Elite Tournaments inks partnership with Pennsylvania Classics youth club

MARYLAND-BASED COMPANY CONTINUES STEADY NATIONWIDE GROWTH

 Mount Airy, Md. - Elite Tournaments is proud to announce its latest event management partnership, this time with youth soccer powerhouse Pennsylvania Classics.

Known to most as PA Classics, the club was founded in 2004 and quickly became a dominant presence in Central Pennsylvania, with its top boys' and girls' teams competing in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and the Atlantic Soccer League, respectively.

The new arrangement sees Elite Tournaments take over all facets of the Lancaster County, Pa.-based club's four signature tournaments: The Mid-Atlantic Cup, Keystone Cup, Coppa Classico and PA Classics Winter College Showcase, which feature many of the top teams in the eastern United States and Canada. Elite will also assist PA Classics in the creation of a new elite college showcase event for girls.

"We're thrilled to join forces with PA Classics as we continue our growth throughout the Mid-Atlantic region," said Mike Libber, founder and president of Elite Tournaments. "The club and its events have earned a tremendous reputation over the years, and we are eager to help them reach the next level."

Six PA Classics players have been called into various U.S. National Team training camps over the past five years, and last week club alumnus Andrew Wenger won the Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the top player in NCAA men's soccer. Wenger is expected to be one of the top two picks in Major League Soccer's SuperDraft on Thursday.

The club's events have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years -- the Winter College Showcase expanded from eight teams to 152 in its five years of existence thus far, for example -- and the club's leadership is ready to claim a place on the national landscape.

"PA Classics is very pleased to partner with Elite Tournaments to operate our Tournament Series in the coming years," said Mike Henning, PA Classics' vice president and tournament director. "Mike Libber and his organization have proven to be very adept at hosting, promoting and organizing top-level soccer tournaments, and PA Classics is very much looking forward to utilizing their resources to further our tournament footprint.

"We believe that together, PA Classics and Elite Tournaments will be able to provide a number of fantastic tournament opportunities to teams of all levels throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and beyond."

Elite Tournaments is responsible for dozens of top competitions in the Northeast U.S. and is building a nationwide presence with the impending addition of new partnerships in all four of U.S. Soccer's regions.

"We now run events in thirteen states across the country, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, all hotbeds for soccer in Region I," noted Libber. "These are well-established events on a national level, and we look forward to continuing our growth into Regions II, III and IV."