Deutsche Bank, HBO and BlackRock take the top honors in 13th SCORES Cup
Almost 40 corporate soccer teams came together at Pier 40 in lower Manhattan on Saturday for the 13th annual SCORES Cup, enjoying a day of exciting competition that led to three sets of champions and a huge boost for a great cause.
Over 500 players proudly wore the colors of their teams with almost 1,300 poet-athletes across New York City set to benefit from the largest event of its kind in Manhattan.
Team photos by Luis Fonseca (SayCheeseKidz.com) and action shots from the day taken by Kim Kirnan, Charley Hung, and Franklin Urgiles can be seen here.
SCORES Cup is New York's biggest corporate soccer tournament and America SCORES New York's largest fundraiser, where all proceeds go to support our soccer, poetry and community service after-school programming, impacting public school students in Harlem, Washington Heights, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
In addition to our diverse range of corporate sponsors who took the field on Saturday, we also had an exciting presenting sponsor: the Embassy of Qatar! This is positive news for many reasons but most of all because Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. We share the sustainability and legacy goals of Qatar 2022 whose care and concern for the world drives every decision in the hope that generations to come should find our shared planet a greener, more equitable place, free from discrimination and full of opportunity for all. Like our new partners, we too believe that real change is possible through the power of soccer and we admire their commitment to become model for other nations around the world seeking development opportunities through sport.
Despite the heat of the day, our players stayed energized thanks to delicious sandwiches from Pulqueria, Gatorades from Pepsico, and a team of water volunteers thanks to the law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLC. Our incredible sponsors also made sure we were prepared for the 80 games that were played that day and provided goals (thank you NYC Footy!), as well as game balls and water bottles (thank you New York Red Bulls!)
A special thank you goes out to our amazing jersey sponsor 4point4, who customized each teams jersey, matched our keeper's jerseys to our latest poetry anthology cover, and even added poems from our poet-athletes onto every jersey!
Our incredible volunteers arrived promptly at 7am to set up the fields, the registration tables, and get food prepared so our corporate athletes could leave it all on the field. After a rousing speech from Executive Director Shannon Schneeman, Division 1 teams took to the field with encouragement from the New York Red Bulls DJ, as well as our amazing MCs Kaitie Sjostdet and Tommy Schneeman.
Each Division 1 teams came to win, but at the end, it came down a final four of Deutsche Bank, Refinitiv, Latham & Watkins and TD Securities. The German bank ultimately proved victorious on a scoreline of 4-1 over Latham in the decider and took home the 2019 SCORES Cup!
With sixteen teams, Division 2 definitely had some healthy competition and teams were eager to take home the Challenge Cup. After some exciting games, WIthum and HBO were left to battle it out when they moved past Rabobank and KKR in the semi-finals. ASNY Junior Baord member Delia McGee led the HBO outfit to a 3-0 victory and a 3-0 victory.
Division 3 ended our incredible day with an awesome array of teams competing for the Kicker! Cup, named for our annual national publication. This included a team of our coaches, our Kicking It Forward high school program members, a team of supporters, and of course the Consulate of Qatar team! With fair play at the forefront, BlackRock edged out the consular staff in a narrow 2-1 victory.
This incredibly successful day would not have been possible if it weren't for our tireless group of volunteers. Many joined us as early as 6 AM and stayed throughout the day, encouraging teams and helping the day run as smoothly as possible. We couldn't have done it without you!
The volunteer referees organized graciously as ever by our amazing supporter Bruce Mandel worked hard all day in the heat to keep games on an even keel - without their experience and support, this would be impossible.
Many thanks to our DJ and MCs Tommy and Katie, who kept us entertained throughout the day, and all of our photographers Luis Fonseca, Kim Kirnan, Charley Hung, and Franklin Urgiles who captured some amazing images!
Finally, a huge thank you to our corporate sponsors! This event could truly not be a success without your commitment and your passion. Because of your dedication, we are able to put almost $250,000 into our program and continue to change the lives of poet-athletes throughout New York City!
"SCORES Cup is a vital fundraiser for us and has allowed us to expand over the years to under-resourced schools from our waitlist,” said Executive Director Shannon Schneeman.
“We are incredibly thankful for the Embassy of Qatar’s leadership in this event and direct program support through their school sponsorships and annual Winter SCORES Day youth festival. We can't wait to see what 2020 will bring!”
