Washington, D.C. - D.C. United, in conjunction with the club's Hispanic Advisory Committee, today announced plans to host the second annual Latin American Festival before their game against FC Dallas on Saturday, July 14th at 7:30 p.m. at RFK Stadium. The event is sponsored by Budweiser and will give fans a great opportunity to celebrate the culture, music and sport of Latin America. As part of the festivities, soccer legends Teofilo "Nene" Cubillas (Peru) and Gilberto Yearwood (Honduras) will be present at the festival in Lot 8 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. signing autographs and taking pictures with fans in attendance.
"D.C. United is proud of the deep and rich history of support developed within the local Hispanic community and the club is honored to pay tribute to our fans and the community as a whole, " said United Executive Vice President Stephen Zack. "I want to thank all the members of our Hispanic Advisory Committee for their time and dedication in helping us organize this event for the second consecutive year."
Cubillas, nicknamed "El Nene" (the Baby), started his professional soccer career with Peruvian club Alianza Lima at the early age of 16. At just twenty years old, Cubillas led Peru to the quarterfinals of the 1970 World Cup and was later named the South American Footballer of the Year in 1972. He played in three World Cup finals ('70, '78 and '82) and is the 7th leading scorer in World Cup History with 10 goals. He joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL in 1979 and remained a Florida resident after his 20-year retirement from soccer having received only one yellow card in his entire career. Currently he works for FIFA as a member of their Technical Study Group covering the last three Gold Cups as well as last year's WC 06 in Germany.
Yearwood, a gifted central defender, has been recognized as one of Honduras' best soccer players. He played for the Honduras national team in the 1982 World Cup and was an essential component of the national team in many FIFA matches until his retirement in 1993. Yearwood enjoyed a very successful professional career playing with various clubs, including Real Valladolid in Spain's La Liga. He has continued his soccer career as a coach of various professional teams in both Honduras and El Salvador. Currently, he is the head coach of Atletico Olanchano in the Honduran first division.
The pre-game fiesta will commence at 3:30 p.m. in Lot 8 of RFK Stadium and will remain open until kickoff. The festival is open to the public and will feature Latin American music and cuisine.
Associate sponsors of the second annual D.C. United Latin American Festival include Verizon Wireless, Jim Coleman Honda, Amtrak, D.C. Lottery and D.C. Tobacco Free Families. For more information or to purchase tickets for the game against FC Dallas, please call 202-587-5000 or visit www.dcunited.com.
