The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup's visit to Philadelphia will not be limited to Lincoln Financial Field -- it will also come to Penn's backyard.
Rhodes Field, home of the Penn men's and women's soccer teams, will be one of the training facilities in Philadelphia for foreign national teams, which will play at 'the Linc.' Nigeria and North Korea will warm up for the World Cup on the banks of the Schuylkill River.
"U.S. Soccer began exploring potential facility sites once the venues for the Women's World Cup were determined," said Michael Kammarman, the tournament's venue media officer for Philadelphia and Boston. "Rhodes Field was selected amongst many facilities in the Philadelphia area to be an official training site."
The teams' practice schedules for next week are still somewhat fluid, partly because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Isabel.
Today's practice times are known. Nigeria will train at Rhodes from 7 to 9 a.m. and North Korea from 9 to 11 a.m. North Korea will also practice today at Drexel from 3 to 5 p.m.
The U.S. team will train at Chestnut Hill Academy on Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the school's athletic director, D. Stanley Parker. The practices will be open to the public.
France and Norway are both scheduled to train at Villanova University today. Norway will practice from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with France training from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Penn men's soccer team coach Rudy Fuller said that the teams training at Rhodes has the potential to raise the profile of the Penn soccer program as the national media spotlight comes to Philadelphia over the next two weeks.
"I think it's great for the University, the [Athletic] Department, and both the men's and women's programs that our field is being looked at as a venue for national teams -- and hopefully in the future, top club teams -- to train at when they are playing at Lincoln Financial Field," Fuller said.
Fuller was not worried about the state of the field despite heavy rains the past two weeks.
"I think [Penn Director of Facilities and Operations] Dave Bryan and his guys do the best job they can for as much use as this field gets," Fuller said.
Cup crazy International women's soccer teams will train in the Philadelphia area for the Women's World Cup. Rhodes Field: Penn will host North Korea and Nigeria today at its home soccer stadium, Rhodes Field, on South Street. Nigeria will train from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., with North Korea taking the field from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Villanova University: Norway will train today at Villanova University from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., while France will take the field from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Chestnut Hill Academy: The United States team will train at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia on Monday and Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both days. Chestnut Hill Academy is located at 500 W. Willow Grove Ave.
