I had the honor yesterday of representing the City of Irvine in ceremonies welcoming the Orange County Blues Football Club to its new home at UC Irvine’s Anteater Stadium.
Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team plays in the USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Its owner is Ali Mansouri and its manager is soccer great Daryuosh Yazdani.
Irvine — a thriving young city that loves soccer and is attracting a growing population from all over the world — is the perfect location for this dynamic young soccer club, full of talented players from around the globe.
Here is what I said:
Melissa Fox presenting City of Irvine Certificate of Recognition to OC Blues owner Ali Mansouri
“On behalf of the City of Irvine and the Irvine City Council, I would like to enthusiastically welcome the Orange County Blues Football Club to Irvine. We are thrilled to have you!
Many professional players have come from Orange County and Irvine is excited to host this new era in Southern California soccer.
Like many others here, I grew up playing AYSO soccer and we are so pleased to have a new professional team of our own to root for!
We appreciate the business and revenue you bring to our community, the sportsmanship and skill you display on the field, and the opportunity your organization provides to host a professional sports franchise.
We look forward to cheering your effort on the pitch, tonight and every night you play.
Congratulations!
Thank you!
And good luck!
Go OC Blues!”
The Orange County Blues went on to crush the Harrisburg City Islanders in a 4-1 victory in front of more than 600 happy fans.
For tickets future games, call (714) 738-8011, email seats@bluessoccerclub.com or visit www.ocbluesfc.com. If you can’t make it to the game, you can watch the live stream online, via the OC Blues FC’s official YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/OCBluesFC.
The next home game is on Sunday, April 27, 2014, at 4:00 PM versus LA Galaxy II at UCI’s Anteater Stadium, 4000 Mesa Road, Irvine CA 92617.
Tickets are only $15.
Go OC Blues!
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