History:

The GCC Cup is a youth competition for private football academies in the GCC.

The GCC Cup started off as an exclusive competition for 5 years with the Juventus Academies, running over 30 different tournaments in this time. Eight countries have participated from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Ras Al-Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Oman.

This tournament has been a huge success, offering players an opportunity to travel and experience other countries at a competitive rate whilst also playing against players they would not normally play against.

After running this tournament for 5 years with exclusivity to Juventus, we have decided to hand pick the best academies in the GCC to partake in the new rebranded version of the competition.

The vision:

Each academy will host an age group each month.

Each tournament will run not only as an independent competition but as a series with academies accumulating points for their performance over the whole season. This idea is very similar to how Formula 1 works. This concept keeps the whole academy engaged all season.

When an academy hosts their obligated event they only look to break even by charging teams no more than AED1000 per team, to cover silverware.

The travelling teams would need to organise their own flights, and transport hotel stay. The host country would be expected to assist by giving information to help the travelling teams organise everything.

Teams are obligated to bring at least one team to each round with additional teams being able to be brought depending on the host’s ability to handle more than 8 teams.

Each academy will only be able to claim the points from their highest place team. We would support everyone in everything they need to host the tournament from tournament formats, fixtures and marketing material.

The format:

All games are 7v7 except the U8 category which will be 5v5.

Day one qualifying groups that help divide the teams to become more competitive on day two.

Games are kept short (10/12 mins) to avoid big results that can become brand damaging.

The second day the competition will be split into two, cup and plate competitions, with a presentation.

DAY ONE FRIDAY 4 – 8pm QUALIFYING

DAY TWO SATURDAY 8 – 12pm FINALS

U8  –  Max Age, 2014 – Size 3 ball – 5v5

U10 – Max Age, 2012 – Size 4 ball – 5v5

U12 – Max Age, 2010 – Size 4 ball – 7v7

U14 – Max Age, 2008 – Size 5 ball – 7v7

U16 – Max Age, 2006 – Size 5 ball – 7v7

1st – 15 pts 

2nd – 12 pts 

3rd – 10 pts 

4th – 8 pts 

5th – 6 pts

Dates:

ROUND ONE OCTOBER 21,22 / 2022

UNDER 14 (2008) RCSI, Muhurraq, Bahrain

ROUND TWO JANUARY 27,28 / 2023

UNDER 16 (2006) Oman

ROUND THREE MARCH 17,18 / 2023

UNDER 10 (2012) Dubai

ROUND FOUR APRIL 27,28 2023 UNDER 12 (2010) Qatar

ROUND FOUR MAY 27 2023 UNDER 8 (2014) Abu Dhabi

If you want to be a part of this fantastic tournament series next season please email [email protected] for further details