The International Friendly Soccer Match Between the National Teams of El Salvador and Guatemala Proved that Central American Soccer is Stronger than Ever

The International Friendly Soccer Match Between the National Teams of El Salvador and Guatemala Proved that Central American Soccer is Stronger than Ever

The "Clasico Centroamericano" Last Sunday, July 20 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Broke Attendance Records

LOS ANGELES, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Traffic Sports USA, announced today the positive results regarding the International Friendly soccer match between the Salvadoran and Guatemalan national teams held last Sunday, July 20 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

More than 37,000 fans poured into the Coliseum to cheer on their respective national sides in the "Clasico Centroamericano" leading several media to qualify the match as one of the top exhibition matches held in the United States in the last 20 years. The Central American population is one of the largest in the United States at over 5 million people.

"Soccer continues to grow by leaps and bounds in the United States. The USL (United Soccer Leagues), MLS (Major League Soccer), Champions League, official club games, and International Exhibition soccer games are proof that the market wants soccer... good soccer. The exhibition games held by the Mexican National Team in the United States have been extremely successful commercially during the last years, but the Mexican team is not the only one that has a significant and passionate fan base in the United States," stated Enrique Sanz de Santamaria, Vice President of Traffic Sports Marketing. "We are very excited with the way Central American fans responded and we have proven, once again, that these markets respond with loyalty to their respective National Teams. It is important that potential sponsors as well as anyone involved in the soccer industry is aware of the potential and massive following of Central American teams. These are first-rate events," he concluded.

For this match, Traffic Sports Marketing retained the services of Primetime Group, a Hispanic Marketing Agency based in Los Angeles which specializes in sports and entertainment. As part of the promotional campaign for this match, two giant flags (30 by 60 feet each) were produced and painted by each community. More than 5,000 fans and local celebrities participated signing the soccer flags at a well-known local park. The flags were then displayed during the match and will be presented as gifts to the respective countries. Furthermore, each team held an open practice in the heart of the Central American community in Los Angeles with an estimated 8,000 fans attending the practices. In addition to all of the fans, many sponsors supported the match and benefited from all of the promotional activities that surrounded the event.

In the next stage of the CONCACAF 2010 World Cup Qualifying, El Salvador will be participating in GROUP C versus Costa Rica, Haiti, and Surinam. Guatemala will be in GROUP A where it will face the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba. Traffic Sports owns the Closed Circuit television rights for the majority of these games in the United States which presents a great opportunity for sponsors targeting the U.S. Hispanic market.

About Traffic Sports USA

Traffic Sports USA, based in Miami, is one of the leading soccer event management companies in the North American, Central American and Caribbean region. Traffic Sports USA is the owner of the Miami FC professional soccer team (USL-1) and has been responsible for organizing and/or commercializing most of the international soccer events in the region including the vast majority of CONCACAF's FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches, five of the last seven CONCACAF Gold Cups, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the Under-17 CONCACAF Regional Championship, the Central American (UNCAF) Nations Cup, the Central American (UNCAF) Club Champions Cup, and hundreds of friendly matches. In 2008, Traffic Sports has organized several World Cup Qualifying matches in the United States including: Anguilla vs. El Salvador, Belize vs. Mexico and St. Lucia vs. Guatemala. Formerly known as Inter Forever Sports, Traffic Sports USA was established over 15 years ago. Traffic Sports USA is the regional subsidiary of Traffic Marketing Esportivo, the leading soccer event management company in Latin America, which owns the commercial rights to events such as Copa America, Copa Sudamericana and the Brazilian National Team World Cup Qualifiers.

Marcos Ommati
Traffic Sports USA
305-728-2623
mommati@trafficsports.com

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Source: Traffic Sports USA

CONTACT: Marcos Ommati, Traffic Sports USA, +1-305-728-2623,
mommati@trafficsports.com

Web site: http://www.traffic.com.br/

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