The Elite Soccer Coaching U14 side in action during a tournament last December. Elite Coaching
LALIGA EA Sports, the Spanish giant which coordinates professional football across Spain, has teamed up with Elite Soccer Coaching to host the LALIGA Youth Tournament in Cambodia.
The December 6-7 event will be held in Phnom Penh, with registration open now for budding players aged 10 to 14.
The Kingdom will become the fifth country to host the competition, after Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, explained a May 21 press release from the LALIGA Office for South-East Asia, Japan and South Korea, which will promote the event.
It explained that the LALIGA Youth Tournament aims to become the benchmark tournament for grassroots football throughout Southeast Asia.
The teams will be divided into two categories: U12s and U14s and there will be different prizes such as winners’ trophies, plates, medals and an MVP awarded for each category.
Registration is open to all footballers aged 10 to 14. Elite Coaching
“There is enormous potential in Asian football talent, which we at LALIGA want to help promote, and one of the key elements for developing talent is the opportunity to compete with other high-level players. The LALIGA Youth Tournament stands out because it goes beyond the competitive element and seeks to bring participants and their families together for a unique experience that contributes to their development as people as well as athletes,” said Iván Codina, director of the Singapore office.
In addition to the tournament, LALIGA has two permanent regional academies, in Vietnam and Malaysia, and has organised various coach development projects and training camps in Spain.
“The arrival of the LALIGA Youth Tournament in Cambodia is a landmark moment — for Elite Soccer Coaching, for the Kingdom’s young players, and for the nation’s entire youth-football pathway. Hosting one of the world’s most prestigious development events validates the decade-plus of work we’ve invested in raising standards alongside all the youth development coaches in the country,” explained John McFarlane, general manager of Elite Soccer Coaching.
“More importantly, it gives Cambodian boys and girls a chance to measure themselves against elite opposition on home soil, to be seen by the world and to dream even bigger. This tournament will accelerate the technical, tactical and cultural growth of Cambodian football, and we are proud to help lead the way,” he added.
LALIGA is justifiably proud of its support for youth players, with the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) rating eight of its youth first teams in the top-ten clubs of the world’s five major leagues. These include Athletic Club, FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Valencia CF, Real Madrid and RC Celta – the top seven – as well as CA Osasuna.
“These are the results of work that has been carried out for years in grassroots football and youth academies, and which LALIGA seeks to export to support the growth of world football,” added the release.
Who knows? Perhaps the next Pedri will be discovered. Youth superstars should register now.
