Soccer Team Trip to U.S.S.R. Gets $10,000 Boost

The Costa Mesa All Star Youth Soccer Team’s plan to tour the Soviet Union in July will get a much needed boost in the form of a $10,000 donation by Prentice Hall Publishing Inc., tour organizers said Tuesday.

The donation will be presented Friday at a ceremony at the Costa Mesa Red Lion Inn, they said.

The 15-member youth soccer team so far has raised $35,000 through fund-raisers and private contributions, as well as a $5,000 donation from the City of Costa Mesa, said Jeff Elsten, one of the organizers. The team, made up of 14- to 16-year-old boys from around the city needs to raise $50,000 for the two-week tour.

“We can do it--no question about it,” Elsten said. “We’ve raised more money in less time.”

The tour, which has scheduled the team to play Soviet youth teams in Moscow, Leningrad and Minsk, is being organized through the Citizens Exchange Council, a nonprofit organization that serves as an intermediary for groups interested in visiting the Soviet Union.

“Our purpose is to raise the consciousness of the kids sent to the Soviet Union,” said Elsten, whose 13-year-old son will play on the team. “The kids are taking this very seriously. They have taken it to heart.”

Organizers say the rest of the money is expected to be raised through fund-raisers such as an eight-kilometer race in March and the sale of fireworks in July.