VILSECK, Germany — Proving it’s never too early to start getting wound up for the next World Cup, German and American residents from the Vilseck area turned out in the thousands Thursday to kick off Bavaria’s summer promotion for the 2006 tournament.

In the first of seven stops around the German state, the SoccaFive Tour 2005 officially got rolling in Vilseck — population 6,500 — with music, dozens of food booths and an afternoon of live entertainment in the town square.

Pegged as the event to launch World Cup pandemonium as soccer fanatics from around the world travel to Germany for next year’s championship tournament, the event was centered on the day’s schedule of five-on-five soccer matches.

Teams from nearby towns and the U.S. military community played on a walled, tennis court-size pitch enclosed by netting, with closet-size depressions as goals.

Players in the 16-and-under age group from Vilseck High School said the small playing field made for an abnormally fast-paced soccer match.

“It’s a lot more ball control [and] shorter passes,” said 16-year-old Jose Leon.

But with a little bit of rain and no cleats allowed on the blue plastic turf, body control turned out to be the biggest problem, as players constantly slid and fell onto one another during the games.

For Vilseck’s mayor, coordinating an event the size of the SoccaFive tour stop was a challenge.

“The biggest event our town ever had,” said Mayor Hans-Martin Schertl. “I think 10,000 people will come today.”

Schertl also billed the day as an effort to strengthen ties with Vilseck’s American neighbors, a notion echoed by the founder of the SoccaFive sport, Stefan Schaffelhuber.

“Sports is bringing [them] together,” Schaffelhuber said.