The '100-Hour Soccer Game', the longest soccer game on record in the United States, came to a dramatic conclusion this afternoon in the city of Bell Gardens, with Chivas defeating the Rest of the World 437-429 after 6,000 minutes, or 100 hours, of continuous play.
The game's final hour featured the presence of Chivas Guadalajara president and owner Jorge Vergara, Chivas USA president and co-owner Antonio Cué, Chivas Guadalajara all-time leading scorer Salvador 'Chava' Reyes, City of Bell Gardens Mayor Pedro Aceituno, famed Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, and members of the ChivaGirls dance team.
In a special closing ceremony, fans counted backward from 100 to 0, while 100 white doves were released amidst the warm intonations of a local mariachi band.
Between Wednesday, August 9, when the historic event first kicked off (at 1:00 p.m. PT), and Sunday, August 13 at 5:00 p.m. PT, over 20,000 fans and more than 2,000 participants - including former professional and international players, local politicians and community leaders, youth teams, and even Chivas USA's ChivaGirls dance team - flocked to the brand-new $10 million Bell Gardens Sports Center in this city of 44,000 inhabitants to participate in this game featuring 'Chivas' versus the 'Rest of the World' in a nonstop, round-the-clock soccer match. Guinness currently has no record of any soccer game lasting as long.
Organized by Chivas and the City of Bell Gardens, and presented by Omnilife and Disneyland Resort, the first-ever 100-Hour Soccer Game celebrated the 100th anniversary of Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico's most popular soccer club.
All donations from the event, in which participation and attendance were free of charge, will go to the 'Fundación Chivas de Corazón USA', the 501(c)3 charitable foundation of Major League Soccer team Chivas USA.
