DEMOPOLIS &8212; A local league is gearing up for a new season for the area youth to compete in the world&8217;s most popular sport, not football or baseball but futbol or soccer.

This weekend the local Alabama Youth Soccer Association league will hold Soccerfest, an event held every year prior to the beginning of the season to get the community and past players out to the park. The event is a three-on-three tournament used to raise awareness of the league in the community.

The free tournament is broken down into different age groups for participants, under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14 and then all other ages through 18. The tourney starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs to around noon, with medals presented to the winners of each age group.

The league will also be signing up players for the upcoming season at the event, or parents can sign up their children at Omni Sports through Aug. 27, after which players will be drafted by coaches of league teams, except for under-6 players who are broken down into groups, and practice will begin.

Rodrigues said the league usually has players not just from Demopolis, but also from around the county. He said players compete among other local teams and at the end of the season a group is complied to travel to the Governor&8217;s Cup.