Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009 1:43 pm

US Youth Soccer announced last week the 2011 US Youth Soccer Region III (Southern) Championships will be held June 16-22, 2011in Murfreesboro at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.

The Region III Championships is the second leg of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, the country's most prestigious national youth soccer tournament.

The event is sponsored by the Tennessee State Soccer Association in partnership with Murfreesboro Soccer Club, the City of Murfreesboro and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

The top 184 Boys and Girls US Youth Soccer teams From Region III, including at least 12 teams from host Tennessee State Soccer Association, will compete.

With the team attendance, local restaurants, hotels, retail stores and others will benefit from the more 10,000 players, coaches, teams and tournament officials, who also bring along their families to this six-day tournament. Visitors to the Murfreesboro area will book an estimated 10,000 room nights at area hotels.

“Bringing the US Youth Soccer Southern Regionals to Rutherford County is significant. An event of this quality and magnitude really puts Tennessee Soccer on the map. The economic impact alone will be over $8 million,” said Craig Long, vice president of youth-competitive for Tennessee State Soccer Association. “The commitment by the community, chamber of commerce, parks and recreation and Murfreesboro Soccer Club made Murfreesboro an easy choice when evaluating locations for the bid. Siegel Soccer Complex and Miller Coliseum will be excellent venues for this event.”

The US Youth Soccer Region III Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer State Champions and select wildcards in the Under-14 through Under-19 Boys and Girls age groups. US Youth Soccer State Cup champions and select runners-up from 12 state associations, including host Tennessee State Youth Soccer Association will participate. The other state associations represented are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Texas.

Annually, the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides the nation's top collegiate coaches with the premier stage to identify and scout the most coveted players in the country. In 2009, more than 600 coaches attended the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships.

For more information on the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, visit http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org, the online home for the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, providing the latest in news, information and more. Get all US Youth Soccer National Championship Series updates on Twitter.