By Miguel Padilla
In a few hours, Copa Tejas first match gets underway with Rio Grande Valley Toros facing the El Paso Locomotive at Southwest University Park. The Copa Tejas is more than a competition, it is a celebration of how much soccer has grown in the United States and Texas.
An exciting new chapter in professional soccer in America begins when RGV and El Paso step onto the pitch as it will the historical first match in Copa Tejas. Early estimates say it will be a near sellout crowd in El Paso, an excellent way to get the Copa Tejas started,
The Copa Tejas twitter page conducted a poll to see who the fans will think will win the match, El Paso are clearly fan favorites but with this being the dawning of a four way rivalry, anything is possible. Expect every single derby to have extra meaning for fans and clubs alike.
Today’s match has a lot of meaning to El Paso fans as we spoke with representatives from 8th Notch supporters group and Seriously Loco Soccer Pod, here’s what they had to say,
“We are absolutely excited to be part of it! It’s been great to see all 4 clubs and their SGs embrace it. We feel very fortunate to be part of the very first match and can’t wait to see how this plays out. Raising the Copa Tejas at the end of the season would really make the city proud and would be a great way to announce our arrival to the league. We can’t wait for Saturday!” – 8th Notch https://twitter.com/8thNotchEP
“The Copa Tejas for El Paso is a chance to connect with the other Texans who support USL clubs but also presents an opportunity to demonstrate what EP brings to the table. Being so far from the rest of Texas we often feel like an afterthought but the Copa gives us an opportunity to showcase our city and introduce it to the rival supporters as a destination for them. They’ll love all the events minus the 90 minutes where Locomotive show them who’s the best in Texas! It’s a great chance to connect with our fellow Texans and for all of us to help build Texas’ pro game as much as possible. ” – Seriously Loco Soccer Pod https://twitter.com/SrslyLocoEPTX
Copa Tejas is Texas newest tradition and we hope it stays for many, many years to come. A tourney will link clubs and fans from the great Lone Star State in the celebration of futbol.
You can catch the Locomotives v Toros on ESPN +
Next match in Copa Tejas is March 30 when Austin Bold faces San Antonio FC at the Circuit of the Americas.
Soy San Antonio Fútbol 