Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 . As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
Rush Soccer was formed in 2002 under the leadership of the Colorado Rush Soccer Club in order to broaden the scope of its proven coaching, player development and administrative methodologies to a national level. By affiliating with qualified soccer clubs throughout the United States, Rush Soccer uses personnel, technical and intellectual property exchanges to create efficiencies through economies of scale, promote player, coach and tournament exchanges, develop proprietary information technology applications, provide administrative and technical consulting, streamline branding opportunities and maximize potential for fundraising and sponsorship support. Rush Soccer's primary objective is to develop a national level club cooperative system that offers substantial opportunities for national corporate sponsorship and foundation support, provides the framework for a national coach and player development network, and will serve a significant centralized pool of talent for consideration by European, MLS, NCAA, US National and Olympic soccer programs. With twenty-eight domestic clubs currently affiliated with Rush Soccer--in Denver, Colorado Springs, Virginia Beach, Albuquerque, Houston, Kansas City, Anchorage, Honolulu, Detroit, Boise, Memphis, Lexington, Philadelphia/Trenton, Bend (OR), Southern California, Orlando, Seattle, Atlanta, Des Moines, Little Rock, Madison, Bowie (MD), Atlantic City (NJ), Phoenix, Akron (OH), and New York City - we are committed to growing to include over 40,000 players by the year 2011. Starting in 2009, Rush Soccer began expansion to International levels when it began a partnership with a small village in South Africa called Nkomazi. Since then, Rush has formed partnerships with clubs in Gambia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe and two South African clubs in Africa, Uruguay and Brazil in South America, Thailand in Asia and New Zealand in the South Pacific.