Gothia Cup
| Founded | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Region | International |
| Teams | 1700 teams |
| Website | www |
The Gothia Cup (Swedish pronunciation: [ɡuːtɪa ˈkɵpː]) is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms of participating teams,[1][2] competing youth teams throughout the world enter the competition. The Gothia Cup is also Sweden's largest annual event. Series 4 of the BBC's Jamie Johnson (TV series) portrays Phoenix FC, a grassroots football club competing in the Gothia Cup.[2]
Overview
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Spanning one week the Gothia Cup is a youth association football tournament held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden, open for both boys and girls of ages 11 to 18. In terms of participants, it is the world's largest youth football tournament, having had ~40,000 participants in 2017 vs. Norway Cup's (the second largest) ~30,000.[citation needed] In 2017, 1730 teams from 82 nations participated, making it the most internationally diverse youth football tournament as well.
The Gothia Cup started in 1975 with 275 participating teams. In July each year, the event becomes the dominant event in Gothenburg, with (as of 2017) 4,349 games played on 110 fields, and 300,000 visitors to the center in Heden. According to the tourist authorities of Gothenburg, the 2006 Gothia Cup generated 282 million Swedish krona in tourist income for Gothenburg city and 118 million krona in tax income for Sweden.[citation needed]
Teams compete from across the world; such as from Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic.[citation needed]
In 2020, for the first time since the tournament's inaugural season, the tournament was not held, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.
Gothia Cup China
[edit | edit source]The concept of Gothia Cup was exported to China in the 2010s.[3] In 2016, the Gothia Cup China, a sister tournament to the Gothia Cup, was established in Shenyang, China.[4] The inaugural Gothia Cup China took place from 13 to 19 August 2016 at the newly built Gothia Cup Football Park. The tournament featured 250 participating teams from 20 nations, although a reliable citation is needed to support this information.[citation needed]
Famous participants
[edit | edit source]This list includes notable players who played in Gothia Cup in their youth and later had been playing for their national teams.[5][6][7][8][9]
- Togo Emmanuel Adebayor (with Les Eperviers)
- Spain Xabi Alonso (with Antiguoko)
- Sweden Joel Asoro (won with IF Brommapojkarna 2010)
- Brazil Júlio Baptista (with Pequeninos do Jockey)
- Morocco Yassine Bounou (with Wydad AC)
- Scotland Gordon Durie (with Hill of Beath Swifts)
- Bolivia Marco Etcheverry (with AD Tahuichi)
- Sweden Tobias Hysén
- Sweden Zlatan Ibrahimović
- Ivory Coast Odilon Kossounou (with ASEC Mimosas)
- Sweden Dejan Kulusevski (won with IF Brommapojkarna 2010)
- Sweden Kim Källström won with BK Häcken 1997 (with Partille IF 1996)
- Indonesia Egy Maulana Vikri (with ASIOP Apacinti)
- Chile Fabián Orellana (with CSD Colo Colo)
- Italy Andrea Pirlo (won with US Voluntas)
- Bolivia Erwin Sánchez (with AD Tahuichi)
- Serbia Slobodan Savić (with Jugović Kać)
- England Alan Shearer (with Wellington Juniors)
- Iceland Gylfi Sigurdsson (with Fimleikafelag Hafnarfjarðar F.H.)
- Brazil Bruno Viana (with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube)
- Italy Cristian Zaccardo (with FC Spilamberto)
- Brazil Zé Roberto (with Pequeninos do Jockey)
- Germany Fiete Arp (with KFV Segeberg)
- Germany Morten Behrens (won with KFV Segeberg 2008)
- Germany Thore Jacobsen (won with KFV Segeberg 2008)
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See also
[edit | edit source]References
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Further reading
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External links
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- Youth football competitions
- International sports competitions in Gothenburg
- International association football competitions hosted by Sweden
- Football cup competitions in Sweden
- Youth in Sweden
- 1975 establishments in Sweden
- Recurring sporting events established in 1975
- July in sports
- Youth football in Sweden