For the third consecutive year, Bennett Awards created a custom achievement award for the Nike International Friendlies, an international soccer tournament that is sponsored by Nike and the US Soccer Federation. The Nike International Friendlies is an Under-17 men’s soccer tournament involving national teams from four different countries. In the 2012 tournament, these participating teams were the U.S., Brazil, Portugal and Turkey. This year’s tournament was held November 28-December 2 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakeland Ranch, Florida, in conjunction with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase.
2012 marked the 10th anniversary of the tournament. As in the prior years, the four clubs played a round-robin competition, and this year’s champion was Portugal, which defeated the U.S. 4-3 in the tournament’s final match. Upon winning the tournament, the Portugal team received a custom Championship Trophy designed by Bennett Awards.
In 2010, Bennett Awards created a new custom recognition trophy design specifically for this tournament. This unique design is based on a stylized cup, and uses geometric shapes, aggressive stylizing, and distinctive patterns to give it a unique, innovative, artistic flair, and differentiate it from other trophies commonly used at sporting events. The achievement trophy was produced in pewter, and utilizes both gold and silver plating. The custom trophy features a raised, curving channel that flows through the design. The main planes of the trophy are gold-plated, while the curving channel is silver-plated. The recognition trophy stands 18” high, and is mounted on a two-tier black marble base. Once side of the base features a personalized engraved plate with the Champion’s moniker, while the other side of the base is engraved with the Nike logo and the names of the participating clubs.
More about the Nike International Friendlies can be found at "www.ussoccer.com".