Philadelphia’s Missing Linc to World Class Soccer

Prior to the summer of 2003, Soccer fans in the Philadelphia tri-state area had to travel down to Washington D.C. or up to East Rutherford, NJ to watch World Class Soccer.

That scenario however changed with the Aug. 23, 2003 opening of Lincoln Financial Field, an NFL (National Football League) style stadium with a real grass surface.

Ironically the first ever event held at Lincoln Financial Field was a soccer friendly between European club powers Manchester United and FC Barcelona. I consider myself lucky to have been among the 68,000 plus in attendance that night as United beat Barca 3-1.

The site lines at this stadium make Lincoln Financial Field a great venue to watch soccer, which probably explains why Philadelphia has been fortunate enough over the past seven years to host a hand full of International Matches.

In 2003 several FIFA Women’s World Cup Games were played at the Linc. Then after winning the soccer gold-medal at the 2004 ...

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