Significantly upgraded but also bigger than ever is this year's Ayia Napa Soccer Festival that will be held for the 19th consecutive year at the premises of the Municipality of Ayia Napa. This year 392 teams from Cyprus and Lebanon, Jordan, Poland, England, Romania, Greece, Egypt will take part. Children born from 2003 to 2013 will compete in 11 age categories, in six of which (2007-2012) there will be two different leagues, for Eagles and Lions. There will also be a category for Girls up to 15 years old.
Information about the event was given on the morning of Wednesday, April 10 at a press conference in the amphitheater of the CYTA Headquarters in Nicosia.
"This year we have the pleasure to host 35 teams from 7 countries abroad, which arrive together with hundreds of parents, escorts and coaches. We are unimaginably satisfied with this fact, since with the full support of the Ministry of Tourism, the institution is established as international "said the head of the Organizing Team Mr. Christos Konstantinou, on behalf of the Soccer World Cyprus Association. He stressed that arrivals are increased by 70% compared to last year.
More than 500 coaches, 90 referees from the Referees Association and 20 Doctors & First Assistants are involved in the event, while more than 20.000 people will move to the area on the days of the games. "Ayia Napa and its hotels and the wider province of Famagusta will be flooded with people, giving as every year the trigger for the start of the tourist season," said Mr. Konstantinou, adding: "This year's event is upgraded as a kiosk with souvenirs in collaboration with the company HERCULES, while with the involvement of the company PARTY CITY, a general upgrade of the tournament is expected, especially in the part of services and catering ”.
The official ball of the event is Miter and it is offered by FAMOUS SPORTS while the event is also sponsored by the restaurants OCEAN BASKET, the Hard Rock Café Ayia Napa, the Waterworld Waterpark, the Sports Gear and the Elite Sporting Club.
The event is under the auspices of the Municipality of Ayia Napa and the Cyprus Football Federation, the institutional supporter is the Cyprus Sports Organization, a major sponsor is the Ministry of Tourism and a television partner is Cytavision. The tournament is organized by the Soccer World Cyprus Association.
In his greeting, the Deputy Mayor of Ayia Napa, Mr. Christos Zannetos, highlighted the importance of the Ayia Napa Soccer Festival and reiterated the commitment of the Municipality of Ayia Napa for continuous support of the event, as well as other sports events hosted by the Municipality.
"The event is one of the largest in Europe, while for the coming years the goal is to attract more teams from abroad and further upgrade the level of the event," said Mr. Zannetos, noting that "Ayia Napa is upgrading the facilities of its sports center to offer a quality product that will support sports tourism both domestically and abroad ".
On behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, Ms. Niki Karagiorgi stated that "the State Department recognized from the first moment the prospect of this event and is very pleased to see the number of foreign teams increase every year" to add that "an important sporting event which is organized in a period of low tourist traffic, is a strategic priority for the State Department ".
"CYTA could not but support this year the specific tournament that brings together all the academies of Cyprus" said on behalf of Cytavision Mr. Andreas Economidis, adding that "we will support the top academy appointment, broadcasting live and exclusively M. Wednesday, April 24, six finals and the awards ceremony ".
More information at www.ayianapasoccerfestival.com and www.facebook.com/AyiaNapaYouthSoccerFestival.