Earlier this year, Buenos Aires won the contest to host the event organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association in a tough competition with Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Lima (Peru).
"We are pleased with the knowledge that the gay soccer world cup will be held for the first time in Argentina," said Cesar Cigliutti, president of the Argentine Homosexual Community gay advocacy group.
"The world cup is a sports and political event which carries a clear signal: every player has the right to express his or her sexual orientation without any prejudice," he said.
Nine teams from the United States, five teams from the U.K, four Argentine teams and one each from Chile, Uruguay and Mexico will participate in the event.
The final match will take place on September 29.
The choice of Buenos Aires as a host city was not surprising. According to various experts, 10% of Argentine adults are homosexuals. Buenos Aires is considered one of the most gay-friendly cities in Latin America and has attracted crowds of gay tourists from all over the world in recent years.
Previous gay soccer tournaments have been hosted by Boston, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Chicago, Sydney, Amsterdam and London, among other cities.
