Upper Saddle River, NJ–Onkyo is sponsoring the inaugural Pan Pacific Championship, a professional soccer tournament between teams from the United States, Japan, and Australia, which will be held in Hawaii in February. Other sponsors of the event include Japan Air Lines, Hilton Hotels, Yamazaki-Nabisco, and MLJ, an international communications company.
In making the announcement, Mr. Ken Araki, President of Onkyo USA, said: “Onkyo is honored to sponsor the first ever Pan Pacific Championship. As a Japanese company with deep ties in the United States and Australia, there is nothing like a little world-class soccer to add some excitement to the relationship. Anyone who has watched the remarkable growth of soccer in the U.S. from local youth leagues to the MLS should appreciate the importance of this event to the players, fans, and sponsors.”
The inaugural Pan Pacific Championship is a world-class professional soccer tournament that will be played in Honolulu, Hawaii and will include the participation of the premier clubs from the Asian and North American confederations MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo (MLS), Yamazaki Nabisco Cup champion Gamba Osaka (J League), SuperLiga finalists Los Angeles Galaxy, and a team from Australia’s Hyundai A-League Final Series (A-League).
The single-elimination tournament will kick off with a semifinal doubleheader on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at Aloha Stadium with the Los Angeles Galaxy taking on Gamba Osaka in the opener, followed by the match between the Houston Dynamo and the A-League representative. The two winners will battle for the Pan-Pacific Championship on Saturday, February 23, preceded by the third-place match. The week-long event will also consist of festivities organized by Major League Soccer for the Hawaii youth soccer community.
