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For teenage soccer players, there’s nothing bigger than the Gothia Cup each summer in Sweden.

The international event attracts 1,600 U11 to U18 teams from 80 nations as far flung as Algeria to Zambia. And now, a girls’ team from Calgary is joining that elite list of competitors.

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This past weekend, the Foothills ’02 Girls beat a division rival, Southwest United Premiers, to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Gothenburg, Sweden, July 17 to 23.

“This is one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in the world. I knew about it as a player and always wanted to do it as a coach,” said Jonathan (Jay) Wheeldon, the team’s coach and also skills academy manager at Foothills Soccer Club.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the girls. Even for me. I’m so excited for it. This is something they’ll remember forever.”

SKF Group, an international industrial bearings firm, is the Cup’s main sponsor and, each year, it randomly chooses 24 world cities and various age groups to hold qualifying tournaments in an initiative called Meet the World. Last year, SKF Canada hosted an event in Montreal and this year it picked Calgary for U14 girls. SKF pays for all winners to attend the weeklong tournament in Sweden.