The Shindigz National Soccer Festival will once again return to Fort Wayne for its 18th year on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 18th, 19th & 20th. The festival will grow to include two sites in 2016: IPFW’s Hefner Fields and Bishop John D’Arcy stadium at the University of Saint Francis Top-notch high school and collegiate teams will again participate in the Shindigz National Soccer Festival, including UCLA, Syracuse and Indiana. Full schedules are now available online at www.NationalSoccerFestival.com . Advance discount tickets can now be purchased at Fort Wayne-area Connolly’s Do It Best Hardware locations and Soccer Plus. As in years past, tickets can also be purchased at the gate on the days of the event.

Thursday, August 18th, will feature Syracuse vs. Michigan State with a 7:00 p.m. start at Bishop D’Arcy stadium. Friday, August 19th, will feature IPFW vs. Wright State at 7:00 p.m. and the local ‘darby’ of the University of Saint Francis vs. Indiana Tech starting at 7:30 p.m. Both games are at Hefner Fields. Friday also begins the Bishop Luers’ High School Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer Invitational, also at Hefner Fields. Saturday, August 20th, continues the High School Soccer Invitational at Hefner Fields and will also feature Indiana Tech vs. the University of Findlay in Women’s competition starting at noon. The evening will culminate at Bishop D’Arcy stadium with a double-header of Syracuse vs. Ohio State starting at 6:00 p.m. Then, Indiana University vs. UCLA face off in the final, showcase match of the day, which fires up at 8:00 p.m. under the lights. Fireworks, sponsored by the Fort Wayne Sports Corporation, will then immediately follow the final match.

What began in 1999 has now become the nationally known phenomenon of the Shindigz National Soccer Festival. What was merely a soccer event has now turned into a full-fledged, grass roots community supported soccer celebration. Corporations, foundations and personal donations are the backbone of the festival. The beneficiaries of the event are the city of Fort Wayne for the national recognition it receives; the area youth for the hands-on interaction with the soccer players and coaches from national major universities; the local businesses of northeast Indiana, for the added commerce brought to the region; the area universities, for the added exposure and the average Fort Wayne citizen who knows nothing about the game, but loves to have fun in a family oriented atmosphere.

Currently, the Shindigz National Soccer Festival has evolved into a true community soccer celebration, including youth clinics put on by major university coaches and players, wide ranges of live entertainment, opportunities for youth involvement, food vendors and giveaway prizes; now located at both the beautiful IPFW west campus of Hefner Fields and at the state-of-the-art Bishop John D’Arcy stadium on the stellar campus of the University of Saint Francis. Shindigz National Soccer Festival is honored again, this year, to bring top-ranked college soccer teams, along with highly prestigious high school teams, to Fort Wayne. Due to its great history, Shindigz National Soccer Festival has been recognized nationally as the premier event to attend for pre-season collegiate soccer.