San Jose to host important sports events in coming two years

 SAN JOSE, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- San Jose, capital city of Costa Rica, will host important sports events that will be a rehearsal¹ for the International Federation² of Association Football (FIFA) U-17 Women's World Cup, to be held in the Central American country for the first time in 2014.

The first, the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) 2013 Central American Cup, will be held from January 18 to 27, with the participation³ of Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and Belize.

The second event, the 10th Central American Games, the first time in Costa Rica, will be held from March 3 to 17, 2013. This event opens the Olympic cycle in the region.

The third event is the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be hosted by Costa Rica in 2014. This cup will be the first one that FIFA has granted to a Central American country and is a time challenge for Costa Rica, because the country hasn't build the necessary stadiums yet.

UNCAF 2013 CENTRAL AMERICAN CUP

This tournament will define the qualification of the four Central American countries that will take part in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) Gold Cup, to be held in the United States by mid-2013.

The last time Costa Rica was seat of a UNCAF cup was in 1999, when all the matches were played at the "Estadio Nacional de la Sabana" old stadium and Costa Rican national team won the regional championship.

The "Sabana" stadium was also the seat of the first UNCAF cup in 1991, where Costa Rica was also champion.

This time UNCAF cup will be played again in "Sabana" stadium as well as in the new "Estadio Nacional de San Jose", donated by the People's Republic of China and opened in March 2011.

The new stadium, with capacity for 35,000 people, has become Costa Rica's spearhead to organize several sports events.

2013 CENTRAL AMERICAN GAMES

About the Central American Games, Johnny Araya, Mayor of San Jose and President of the organizing committee, told Xinhua that all the sports facilities to be used in these games are practically ready, including the "Estadio Nacional de San Jose", where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held.

"Everything is practically ready so that we will make the Central American Games a great and memorable⁴ event. We only lack some small details. But I'm sure they will be a success for Costa Rica," said Araya.

The Costa Rican sculptor⁵, Jorge Jimenez Deredia, will be in charge to design the cauldron for the Olympic fire, which will travel through the total 81 cantons in relay races.

The games' official song, called "Let's Stand Up", is performed by Debbie Nova, while the official mascot⁶ is a jaguar⁷ called "Namu", a word from the Costa Rican indigenous⁸ group Bribri to name this animal.

Costa Rica expects the presence of 3,800 athletes from the region, who will compete for the gold, silver and bronze medals in 35 sports.

2014 FIFA U-17 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

The 2014 FIFA Women's World Cup's main seat will be the "Estadio Nacional de San Jose" stadium, while the "Ricardo Saprisa" stadium, in the northern region of San Jose, will also host the competition.

Nevertheless, after her recent visit to Costa Rica, Tatjana Haenni, FIFA's Women's Competitions Director, said she was concerned because the stadiums of Jaco, at 90 kilometers east of San Jose and of Liberia, in the country's northwestern region, are not finished yet.

Jaco and Liberia cities haven't yet began the stadiums' building process just 15 months before the cup. Haenni said "it's possible to build them in this time but the building has to begin right now."

Despite the economic and organization difficulties, the Costa Rican authorities have said that thanks to the "Estadio Nacional de San Jose" they are able to host several international sports events.

1 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

5 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

6 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

7 jaguar   

n.美洲虎

参考例句：

• He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
• Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。