Hey, remember when FIFA outrageously awarded a major international event to a Persian Gulf nation instead of to Australia or Japan? I'm referring of course to the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, which begins tomorrow in the United Arab Emirates (just a stone's throw from Qatar!) with the first round match between hosts Al-Wahda and OFC champions Hekari United from Papua New Guinea, who are the first ever Oceania champions not from Australia or New Zealand.
This is theoretically the top club tournament in the world — although it doesn't get as much attention as the Confederation cups — and the Sounders have a route to it by winning the CONCACAF Champions League. This year's CCL representative is Pachuca, which is carrying three Americans in Herc Gomez, Jose Torres, and Marco Vidal. Their first match is on Friday against African champions TP Mazembe from Kenya. Here's your Wikipedia link and here's FIFA's official coverage.