Over 20 countries have expressed interest in participating in the 2016 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Under-19 World Men’s Lacrosse Championships being held at Coquitlam Town Centre in July of 2016, with the two perennial powerhouses among the first teams to officially commit.
The defending finalists Canada and the United States were among the first teams to commit for the tournament. Other committed teams will be announced throughout 2015.
"We are very excited to get interest from over 20 teams thus far,” says tournament chair Cliff Pascas. “We are receiving confirmation from participating nations and expect we will have over a dozen teams committed by the spring. We are very happy to see the interest in the tournament and look forward to welcoming the world to the lower mainland again in 2016."
The United States has won every Under-19 championship in history but Canada continues to build and develop with hopes of upsetting the seven-time reigning champions. Canada has been the runner up in six tournaments while Australia was the runner-up to the U.S. in 1992. With the two rivals committing to the tournament, excitement for the tournament will only continue to ramp up.
The men’s world U-19 field lacrosse championship was first held in 1988 and was hosted in Canada only once previously when the championship tournament was hosted at the same site in Coquitlam in 2008.
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—Andy Watson, Communications and Marketing Chair
