Crunchyroll and LA Galaxy Are Hosting a ‘Bluelock’ Soccer Tournament
Crunchyroll is joining forces with the LA Galaxy to put on a Bluelock soccer tournament. And the winners get exclusive swag!
How many of us played soccer as kids? I sure did. Well, I wore a jersey, attended practices, and got the ‘good job getting on the field’ Cracker Jacks with my dad after games, but saying that I played would be a stretch. But something neat about sports anime is how it lets us imagine what it would be like to be inhumanly good at the game with the fine art of over-explained slow-mo breakdowns. But if you were–or are–good at soccer you may be interested to hear more about the Bluelock-themed soccer tournament hosted by Crunchyroll, Saturdays Football, and the LA Galaxy.
Bluelock Soccer Tournament
The popularity of the anime series, Bluelock, inspired anime streaming giant, Crunchyroll to team up with the soccer culture leader, Saturdays Football and the LA-based soccer team, the LA Galaxy and host an entire tournament.
The tournament will be held this Saturday, Marth 25th at 11:00AM PDT at the new Galaxy Park complex at the Dignity Health Sports Park campus in Carson, CA. Players will engage in a 3 vs. 3 “King of the Court” style game across multiple fields that will take place over the course of 90 minutes of play. At the end of the 90 minutes, the four teams on the top two courts will play against each other in a semi-final match with the winners going head to head in a final game to determine the winner.
Winners of the tournament will receive a Bluelock prize pack that includes a custom Bluelock and Saturdays Football jersey which will only be available to the winners of the tournament.
If you’re interested in playing, you can RSVP on their EventBrite here. The event is totally free., but unfortunately, at this time there are no spots available. There is, however, a waitlist to join in case any open up.
And of course, if you, like me, are better at watching soccer than playing it, spectators are welcome. “Want to come just to enjoy the spectacle? That is totally fine! Great soccer deserves a great audience.”
About Bluelock
Originally hitting the scene as a 2018 manga, Bluelock is being published to this day. So far, there are an impressive 23 volumes of this soccer-centric manga. The anime series premiered in October 2022 and is expected to run for 24 episodes.
The official synopsis describes Bluelock as:
“Japan’s desire for World Cup glory leads the Japanese Football Association to launch a new rigorous training program to find the national team’s next striker. Three hundred high school players are pitted against each other for the position, but only one will come out on top. Who among them will be the striker to usher in a new era of Japanese soccer?”
Has sports anime inspired you to play any sports of your own? Did you ever play soccer, and if so what level did you play at? Are you playing in the Bluelock soccer tournament this weekend or know anybody who is? Let us know in the comments!
Ja ne, adventurers!
