Christchurch International Cup three times bigger

Christchurch International Cup three times bigger than last Year

The second edition of the Christchurch International Cup has attracted 82 teams and will host 1300 players and coaching staff from all over New Zealand and Australia and has become one of the biggest youth football tournaments in the country.

The tournament is now expanded into 2 separate tournaments run over 2 weekends. A new age group tournament for ages 13 and 14 will run from July 9 to 11 , while the previously held tournament for under 9-under 12’s will be played from July 14-16 and is being hosted at the Christchurch Football Centre, Yaldhurst.

Tournament director Ricardo Felitti says that the under 13 and 14 age groups will be a very competitive competition with teams from Auckland, Nelson, Dunedin and Timaru joining local teams. There will be twice as many teams for the under 9-12 age group, with clubs from all of the centres attending the U13/14 plus teams from Australia, making this tournament even more exciting than last years.

“These clubs are really serious about this tournament and are coming to developed their football talent and ultimately to try and win the CIC Cup.” says Felitti.

According to Felitti the participating clubs were impressed by the world-class facility at the Christchurch Football Centre as well as the organising team who left no detail to chance.

“It is our goal to give the players a world-class experience and make these youngsters feel as if they are playing at a World Cup, on world-class pitch, in a great atmosphere, against quality opponents, with official referees and great prizes,” says Felitti. “This year Ollie Bowman will be returning, Ollie is a world class ball skills expert and “Fit for Football”, a NZF and ACC funded program to educate players and coaches on injury prevention and performance enhancement. Next year the organisers are looking at hosting more international teams, with some clubs from South America and Europe already showing some interest and are working on ideas that will enhance the player and supporter experience .

The tournament director encourages all supporters of any sport to come down and experience what is a truly unique sporting tournament in Christchurch.

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