MEN'S TOURNAMENT
The men’s teams competing in the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ 2023 introduce themselves.
Group A
Académie Génération Foot
The U19 team is very excited to attend the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ and have the privilege
to represent the Academy at the tournament. Being the first African team to have ever participated in this tournament alongside European clubs with experience is more than a
privilege as it gives players opportunity to compete with foreign clubs.
Olympique de Marseille
The Olympique de Marseille U19 team is currently fighting for the first rank of the national U19 League. After a difficult beginning of season (elimination from UEFA Youth League), the team has recovered and now has encouraging results. The opportunity given to play several international tournaments with this U19 team is very formative for our players, with events such as UEFA Youth League, Al Abtal Cup, Mohamed VI Academy International Tournament, and of course the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™. Therefore, Olympique de Marseille has great hopes for some of its young players that compose the team.
FC Zürich
The team of FC Zurich, consisting of players from the U21 and U18 teams, has always played a prominent role at the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ in recent editions, having won the tournament three times in the last 14 editions and reached the final seven times. The city club, which finished third last year, is coached by U21 head coach Genesio Colatrella. In the Promotion League, FC Zurich is in the middle of the table. This year, too, FC Zurich is determined to present itself in the best possible way and is looking forward to competing with strong youth teams from all over the world.
FC Basel 1893
Currently, the team is in a secure mid-table position in the Promotion League. Due to many teams within a few points, one or two places up in the table can still be reached in the last third of the championship.
Rot Blau is eagerly looking forward to the upcoming Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ 2023: on the one hand, as last year’s winner, they want to successfully defend their title, and on the other hand, the young players can gain valuable experience for their further development at an internationally top-class tournament.
Group B
Liverpool FC
It will be a combination of the U18 group and those U21s who still meet the age range which will represent the club at the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ at the intermediate U19 level.
The U19 squad will be led at Blue Stars by coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson who has been at Liverpool since 2015 and became manager of the U18 team in 2020.
Corinthians Paulista
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista has always been known for forming great talent in the youth teams. The Club has a Training Center with an excellent structure for their athletes. Corinthians Youth Academy has provided many players to the professional football squad. It is important to emphasize that this transition is essential for the integral training of athletes, in addition to further strengthening the name of the Club as one of the main trainers of athletes in Brazil.
Grasshopper Club Zürich
The Grasshopper Club Zurich is looking forward to the international tournament at the Buchlern Sports Center in Zurich-Altstetten. A selection of Junghoppers from the U21 and U18 teams will compete, as there is currently no fixed U19 team. Some of the participants have already been integrated into the first team on occasion and can already demonstrate some appearances. The ambitions for the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ are high and the goal is clear!
FC Blue Stars Zürich
The boys are extremely excited for the upcoming tournament and will do everything possible to compete with the “cracks”.
The big goal, of course, is to give everything against superior opponents and maybe create a surprise. The tournament team is reinforced by six players from the first team. Some U19 players have already been used in training and preparation games to approach adult football.
