Birmingham, Alabama will be the hosts of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer College Cup, which is soccer's version of the Final Four.
There is a lot of enthusiasm generated in Birmingham, and below is a news report from Fox news in Birmingham/Hoover.
The love for watching or hosting sporting events is really paying off for the metro area's economy.

Now, this is definitely something that I was not expecting, but it illustrates just how serious the Cosmos are about resurrecting the club! The New York Cosmos have signed Eric Cantona as their Director of Soccer. What a signing! Read more in the press release below.

January 19, 2011 – As part of the revival of the world's most legendary soccer club, The New York Cosmos today announced that iconic footballer Eric Cantona has been persuaded to come back into the game as Director of Soccer with overall responsibility for all soccer-related matters, which will include the proposed first team.

• ESPN Soccernet calls the Development Academy one of the most exciting things important story lines coming up in 2011 – Soccernet.com
• U.S. Soccer Director of Scouting Tony Lepore spoke to Goal.com about the Training Center program – Goal.com
• Dallas Texans, Lonestar, Weston SC and Texas Rush AJ Auxerre all had successful weekends at the Disney Soccer Showcase – Soccer America
• U.

LOS ANGELES, Cal. German second-division club Ingolstadt has signed United States forward Edson Buddle. Buddle's contract with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy had expired. He was MLS's leading scorer for most of last season despite missing more than a month for the World Cup. Buddle ended the regular season as the second-highest scorer [.