U19 Football Tournament CEE Cup to Start on Friday, July 28

The Brazilians and the English are slowly packing their bags to come over to Prague, the Czech teams are addressing the last question-marks in the composition of their teams.

There is only one week left until the kick-off of the eleventh edition of the CEE Cup, the most important domestic youth tournament for under-19 footballers.

The first match on Friday, July 28, at 15:00 at Sparta’s Strahov Training Centre will offer a spicy fight between the home team and West Ham United, with which it is connected by common ownership ties.

All teams will stay at the Don Giovanni hotel on the border between Žižkov and Vinohrady, and in between matches they will train at the Sparta and Slavia training centres.

“We don’t organize any accompanying program for them, but on their free day, they usually go to the city centre for dinner. Meetings with representatives of the various Embassies are also planned,” says the tournament director, Roberto De Blasio. From Prague, Flamengo will continue on to the next tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, Palmeiras will head to Obendorf, Germany.

Scouts of Juventus, Manchester United or Manchester City and other foreign clubs have signed up to come for the Prague-based tournament. The CEE Cup will be broadcast in its entirety on a live stream with English commentary. The worldwide analytical platform, Soccerment, has also recently become a partner of the tournament.

“It is important that coaches in every country follow international youth tournaments. Especially when it is such a prestigious and high-quality international tournament in which two top clubs from the country and four from clubs abroad participate. Even more so when those foreign teams are from top football countries outside the EU.” highlights Ladislav Valášek, the Vice President of the Union of Czech Football Coaches.

“Prague will once again prove to be an excellent host for an elite sports event. It can welcome not only the final of a European football competition as it has done a few weeks ago, but it can also host a top youth tournament with the participation of teams from all over the world. For the still-developing-personalities, it will certainly be an important life experience, to get to know a foreign country and a new culture,” says Antonín Klecanda, the Councillor for Education and Sport for the Capital City of Prague.

The championship will be defended by Palmeiras of Brazil, three trophies from Prague already shine in its hall of fame at the Allianz Parque stadium in Sao Paulo.

This year’s trophy was created by the well-known artistic blacksmith, Martin Bundil. He also prepared 13 commemorative plaques for the other awarded teams and players.