Upgraded and renewed, but also with a record number of participants, the established football tournament of academies will take place in Ayia Napa this year.
The McDonald's Ayia Napa Youth Soccer Festival which will have the full support of McDonald's Cyprus as the renaming sponsor, as well as LIDL CYPRUS as the main sponsor, will take place as always at the sports facilities of the Municipality of Ayia Napa and in two different phases this year with the first to start from Saturday 27 April to Wednesday 1 May for the Grassroots age categories of boys and girls, and the 2nd phase from 10 to 12 May for the age categories of young people from 13 to 17 years old. In total, 470 different age groups and more than 4000 children have registered and will take part, breaking all previous records and exceeding all expectations.
The participation of academies from abroad has also increased by 80% compared to last year, the number of which has reached 19, with the total number of different age groups traveling to Cyprus reaching 68. The number of children from abroad is expected to exceed 750, a fact which is a huge success for the organization. Particularly positive is the fact that in addition to the traditional countries of the Middle East such as Lebanon and Jordan, this year we also note participations from countries such as Finland, Malta, the Czech Republic, Poland and England, while for the first time this year we also note the first participation from African country and specifically from the Jungle Kings academy from Botswana.
These groups will arrive from abroad accompanied by many chaperones and parents, the number of whom is expected to exceed 2000 people, a fact which satisfies the organizers beyond imagination since with the full support of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism the institution is established and firmly established now as an international.
In this year's event, children will have the opportunity to compete in 21 different age categories starting from the date of birth of 2007 until 2018. The successful innovation of recent years with the addition of additional age categories in separate leagues of a lower football level which provides for the participation of children born from 2011 to 2018 continues this year, giving the opportunity to the largest possible number of children to participate in less competitive races and with more emphasis on joy and fun.
Particularly important is also the innovation that has been established and is perhaps a world first for the organization, the creation where and where possible, of 3 separate level categories in the knock out phase, qualifying according to their position all without exception the teams in this next phase of the event.
The participation of girls continues this year with a separate tournament for girls aged under 15 and K13 where the organizers are very pleased to announce the participation of 16 girls' teams, thus achieving the common goals of the organization with the federation, which are none other than the development of women's football in Cyprus while giving equal opportunities for participation and sports to the female population as well.
Wanting to promote their social work and raise public awareness at the same time, the Karaiskaki Foundation, in collaboration with the organization, will operate a sampling center for the collection of samples for the needs of the bone marrow donor archive, which can be a source of life for some sick and painful fellow human being. Both the Karaiskaki Foundation and the organizers invite the people who will attend to support the above effort.
The representative of the organization, Mr. Christos Constantinou, said in his statement that "McDonald's Ayia Napa Youth Soccer Festival is for us a real football celebration for young children and the goal of all of us as organizers and of all those who will attend the event should be to be the protection of children who should be given the opportunity away from the pressure and stress of winning to enjoy and have fun with their souls. We should all encourage and applaud all the children for the effort they will make in a spirit of sportsmanship and respect for the rules, the referees and in general for all those present.
The increased participation and the love of the people and the children towards the tournament makes us especially happy, but at the same time it raises the bar in terms of the effort that will be needed for a successful event. For this reason, we ask and hope for everyone's cooperation, with the aim of promptly and effectively dealing with any possible problems inside and outside the playing field, thus achieving the smooth running of the games.
Football is much more than just a game. It is a way of expressing, trying and demonstrating the possibilities and abilities by playing with passion and zeal and will for the result. And this tournament is no exception. At the same time, however, we must not forget that it is also a way of fun, entertainment and healthy occupation and that in the end, effort and fair play are worth much more than victory. It is an opportunity for all of us to join forces and enjoy the event and together the joys that this wonderful sport offers.
Before I close, I would like to thank the numerous attendants and parents for their trust and their expected presence at the event as sports fans. Let's have an amazing tournament and create unforgettable moments together. Let's show our best selves on the field and compete and behave with dignity and respect.
I want to thank and wish each team and each individual child the best of luck and every success and truly tell them that we are very honored to have them with us for another year.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to thank all the exceptional sponsors and supporters of our event, and especially McDonald's Cyprus for the very important for the event sponsorship agreement renaming McDonald's Ayia Napa Youth Soccer Festival, as well as Lidl Cyprus for the upgraded this year's sponsorship, through which the further upgrading, promotion and development of our organization is expected".