VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team is getting ready for plenty of heat, humidity, and a whole lot of new experiences as they head to China for the World Elite University Football Tournament (WEUFT) starting Saturday, July 13th in Guangzhou.
It's the second time in the last three years the T-Birds are taking part in the tournament after finishing as the runners-up in the summer of 2017 when the event was held in Beijing. As was the case two years ago, UBC will face strong international competition at the tournament which features teams from the United Kingdom, Germany, South Africa, the Netherlands, and, of course, China.
"To provide international travel experiences and playing opportunities internationally has always been a goal of our program," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher who enters his 24th U SPORTS season with UBC this fall. "You go to different countries and see different things on and off the field. You go through different challenges and adversity and I think that can really work to bring the group closer together."
The two-week trip will also see UBC make a stop in Hong Kong before returning home with a chance for some further team bonding.
"It was a good and really positive experience last time and we hope that will be the same," added Mosher who will also be using the trip to evaluate and prepare for the upcoming Canada West season. "It's an opportunity to play everyone that's going to travel and get them some minutes and really get a bit of a head start, and for me, get a head start looking at these players and how they might factor in as we move towards the start of our own training camp."
The 'Birds left Vancouver for the southwestern metropolis of Guangzhou on Wednesday. Currently acclimatizing themselves to the local conditions which will feel as hot as 41 degrees this week, the 'Birds open up the tournament Saturday against Peking University at 5:00 a.m. PT (8:00 p.m. local). UBC also faced Peking University in their tournament opener two years ago, earning a convincing 9-0 victory.
Following a day of rest on Sunday, the T-Birds will be back on the pitch Monday to face the University of Oxford, once again with a 5:00 a.m. PT start time.
