Gothia Cup

The Gothia Cup (Template:IPA) 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,<ref name=radio>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />

Overview

Fireworks at the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony and finals are held at Ullevi, Gothenburg.

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.Template: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.Template:Citation needed

Teams compete from across the world; such as from Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic.Template: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

The concept of Gothia Cup was exported to China in the 2010s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2016, the Gothia Cup China, a sister tournament to the Gothia Cup, was established in Shenyang, China.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed

Famous participants

This list includes notable players who played in Gothia Cup in their youth and later had been playing for their national teams.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Template:Flagicon Emmanuel Adebayor (with Les Eperviers)
• Template:Flagicon Xabi Alonso (with Antiguoko)
• Template:Flagicon Joel Asoro (won with IF Brommapojkarna 2010)
• Template:Flagicon Júlio Baptista (with Pequeninos do Jockey)
• Template:Flagicon Yassine Bounou (with Wydad AC)
• Template:Flagicon Gordon Durie (with Hill of Beath Swifts)
• Template:Flagicon Marco Etcheverry (with AD Tahuichi)
• Template:Flagicon Tobias Hysén
• Template:Flagicon Zlatan Ibrahimović
• Template:Flagicon Odilon Kossounou (with ASEC Mimosas)
• Template:Flagicon Dejan Kulusevski (won with IF Brommapojkarna 2010)
• Template:Flagicon Kim Källström won with BK Häcken 1997 (with Partille IF 1996)
• Template:Flagicon Egy Maulana Vikri (with ASIOP Apacinti)
• Template:Flagicon Fabián Orellana (with CSD Colo Colo)
• Template:Flagicon Andrea Pirlo (won with US Voluntas)
• Template:Flagicon Erwin Sánchez (with AD Tahuichi)
• Template:Flagicon Slobodan Savić (with Jugović Kać)
• Template:Flagicon Alan Shearer (with Wellington Juniors)
• Template:Flagicon Gylfi Sigurdsson (with Fimleikafelag Hafnarfjarðar F.H.)
• Template:Flagicon Bruno Viana (with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube)
• Template:Flagicon Cristian Zaccardo (with FC Spilamberto)
• Template:Flagicon Zé Roberto (with Pequeninos do Jockey)
• Template:Flagicon Fiete Arp (with KFV Segeberg)
• Template:Flagicon Morten Behrens (won with KFV Segeberg 2008)
• Template:Flagicon Thore Jacobsen (won with KFV Segeberg 2008)

See also

• List of sporting events in Sweden

Further reading

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External links

• Template:Official website
• Worldstride Excel