FASA partners with Chesterfield United to create new Va. youth tournament

The Fredericksburg Area Soccer Association has joined forces with Chesterfield United Soccer Club to launch the Washington Invitational, a new youth tournament series based at FASA’s new fields complex in Spotsylvania, Va.

The Washington Invitational will debut in August 2013 and will be based at FASA’s section of the Spotsylvania Sportsplex at New Post, the 20-plus field complex currently being built on 80 acres near the intersection of U.S. 17 & Virginia 2 in conjunction with the Virginia Youth Soccer Association.

This event replaces FASA’s Fredericksburg Cup tournament, and is expected to draw hundreds of teams from across the East Coast and millions of dollars in resulting economic activity.

“Our tournament has experienced steady growth for the past 10 years, and we wanted to accelerate it, especially with our new complex,” said FASA general manager Pete Cinalli in a press release.

“Rebranding our event helps us broaden its reach and scope. And with the top fields we already use, including Patriot Park, Dixon Park and the new outdoor, synthetic-turf field that recently opened at the Fredericksburg Field House, we can host a much larger event on some of the best fields in the Mid-Atlantic region.”

One of the leading youth clubs in the Richmond, Va. area and the co-hosts, along with the Richmond Kickers, of that city’s Ultimate Cup, Chesterfield United bring vast tournament staging experience to the Washington Invitational. CUFC and FASA will work together to maximize the series’ success in terms of the total number of participating teams, quality of execution and overall customer experience.

“As a club, we are very excited about the Washington Invitational and the partnership we have formed with FASA,” said Matt Lacey, Chesterfield United’s director of player development.

“We believe that this tournament will enable teams to kick off the fall 2013 season in style. We will provide quality competition and exceptional facilities with the introduction of FASA’s state-of-the-art fields at the Spotsylvania Sportsplex.”

FASA’s ten natural-grass fields at the New Post facility are in the latter stages of construction and may be put into use as early as this fall.

“We were really impressed with what CUFC did with the Ultimate Cup and are delighted to bring their experience to the table. Combining our resources & expertise will allow us to enhance the experience for the teams, players and families,” said Cinalli.

“There are so many tournament events out there today, and our club feels very strongly that you need to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Having Matt Lacey, Pat McStay [Chesterfield’s technical director and director of operations] and the rest of Chesterfield’s staff on board is extremely exciting for our organization.”