Sure, it’s July and the thermometer is tickling triple digits, but the Jacksonville Sports Council is focused on football — and futbol.
The organization will begin the third season of its speaker series Aug. 31 with U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati as the keynote speaker at a luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
It’s no coincidence that’s less than a week before the U.S. Men’s National Team will play a World Cup qualifying match against Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 6 at EverBank Field.
“We like to be timely and we look at what’s appropriate for the market,” said Alan Verlander, executive director of the council.
Gulati was elected president of the federation in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2014. He is credited with expanding the global market for the game.
When he’s not promoting soccer, Gulati is a senior lecturer in the economics department at Columbia University.
“We expect he will give us an insider’s view of international soccer,” Verlander said. “It’s going to be a great way to kick off soccer week.”
When the sports council was established five years ago, Verlander said organizers didn’t anticipate soccer would become so popular with fans in Jacksonville.
That was before Shad Khan bought the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC in London, and before Mark Frisch brought the North American Soccer League’s Jacksonville Armada to town.
“It takes a while to develop the reputation, but Jacksonville is becoming a soccer destination city,” said Verlander.
The head coaches from the teams invited to the Dec. 31 TaxSlayer Bowl will be featured at the second installment of the speaker series.
Verlander said the spring speaker schedule is under consideration and might feature a member of the France Family, owners of NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, or possibly a Sprint Cup Series driver.
On the American football side of the game, nearly 49,000 tickets have been sold for the Navy versus University of Notre Dame game Nov. 5 at EverBank Field.
“And we haven’t spent one dime on advertising,” Verlander said.
Fans are calling the office wanting to know if the game is sold out, Verlander added.
“We’ll have tickets until we sell 68,000 seats,” he said.
A limited number of tickets also are available for the speaker series. For reservations, visit jacksonvillesportscouncil.com.
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