Coordinating the HOF World Youth Football Championships

It’s no easy task to coordinate a tournament with 81 games being played during a three-day span with 70 teams and 1,700 players from around the world.

General Manager of the National Youth Football & Sports Complex at Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, Clint Fetty, has been coordinating logistics for the first-ever Hall of Fame World Youth Football Championship tournament being held on the Hall of Fame campus this weekend.

The event will host the top youth football teams from across the country and throughout the world from December 14-17, 2017. The games will take place at the National Youth Football & Sports Complex and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, two major components of the nearly $800 million Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village under way in Canton.

Fetty and his staff of 40 will be running three facilities, which includes Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, nearby indoor football facility at Massillon High School and four fields on the Hall of Fame campus.

“It’s going to be a huge team effort. We’re all going to huddle up and have a great weekend,” said Fetty.

They will be coordinating the team’s arrivals, hotels and media day, which will be held on Thursday.

While football is known to be played in cold inclement weather, Fetty will be preparing for freezing temperatures and snow.

“We’re making a lot of preparations for cold weather to make sure the kids are comfortable while they are playing,” explained Fetty. “But the kids from out west are excited to play in this type of weather.”

The tournament is more about wins and losses. Fetty and his team hope the kids learn life lessons during their time in Canton.

“We hope they come and have a great time in Canton, Ohio. We hope they learn a lot at the hall of fame including those character values and we hope they have a great time with their teammates,” shared Fetty.