International Soccer Star Leo Messi at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex – July 9, 2009

FC Barcelona soccer star Leo Messi is continuing his celebration of his team’s UEFA Champions League title by spending a week at Walt Disney World near Orlando, FL. Messi, one of the sport’s biggest stars, is experiencing many of Disney’s attractions, including visiting Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, the leading multi-sport venue in the nation.

At the complex on the eve of the Disney Cup International Youth Soccer tournament, Messi took time out to kick the soccer ball around with a local youth soccer team along with Mickey Mouse. Messi signed autographs and posed for photos with the kids as well as treated them to a demonstration of his coolest soccer tricks.

More than 150 youth boys and girls soccer teams (ages 9-17) from 10 different countries will compete in the 11th annual Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament at Disney, July 14-19. The tournament features teams from Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, Guatemala, Honduras and Puerto Rico. The event is one of several youth soccer tournaments at the Disney sports complex, including Disney’s Soccer Showcase, which features the most elite high school soccer players in the nation.