Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
The Lakers star is listed as one of the participants planning to play in the Celebrity Soccer Challenge on July 31 at Kastles Stadium in Washington D.C., an event sponsored by former U.S. women’s soccer player Mia Hamm and her husband, ex-Dodger Nomar Garciaparra. Bryant’s certainly no stranger to the pitch, as he played soccer growing up in Italy and is an avid fan of La Liga’s FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team. He also attended the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
But the timing is particularly interesting simply because an official from the Turkish basketball team Besiktas told reporters this weekthat the organization planned to talk with Bryant’s representatives on July 30th in hopes that he will team with Deron Williams during the NBA lockout. Bryant’s planned appearance in the charity soccer game would take place one week after playing in a pair of exhibition games in the Philippines.
The rest of the participants and information on Sunday’s event can be found here and on the event’s website, where there is a link to buy tickets, which are $23.
SOURCE: Lakers Blog
Check some footage of Kobe in 2009:
