More than 4 children's football players, from more than fifty countries, will participate in a new edition of Mundialito, «the biggest children's football tournament in the world», which takes place between March 28th and April 5th in Vila Real de santo António (VRSA) and Ayamonte.
The number of participants is reflected in the local economy, as «the hotel occupancy rate in the municipalities of VRSA and Ayamonte will reach 100 percent, generating an economic return of two million euros for the two cities», revealed the Chamber of VRSA.
The 22nd edition of the tournament includes around 300 teams, from 200 clubs, who will compete against each other in close to 750 games. Among the emblems present, there are the great nationals, Benfica, Porto and Sporting, as well as some of the best clubs in the world, namely Barcelona, Seville, Betis, Inter Milan, Ajax, Juventus, Liverpool, among many others.
Flu Recreio (Brazil), Eljaish School Club (Qatar) or Soccer Club (Kenia) are other examples of participating clubs, which give an idea of the diversity of countries present.
«In the context of the Algarve, this is the event with the largest number of athletes involved and with the greatest repercussion in economic terms for hotels, restaurants and local commerce», pointed out Conceição Cabrita, vice-president of the Municipality of VRSA, during the presentation official event, this Monday, in VRSA.
The press conference was also attended by the president of the Ayuntamiento de Ayamonte, António Castillo, and the director-general of the tournament, Nilda Gutiérrez, who highlighted the fact that this is an event recognized by FIFA, where many of the current ones have already passed. European football stars.
In terms of novelties, Mundialito 2015 will invest heavily in the opening ceremony, which will feature a collective of 400 extras and will be coordinated by choreographer Israel Reyes, known for the production of several musicals in the neighboring country.
Also in terms of innovation, Mundialito 2015 is divided this year into five groups. In addition to the usual formations (7/8 years old, 9/10 years old and Cherubim), the 11 and 12 year olds will be split, giving rise to two autonomous groups, which will raise the competitive level.
For the third consecutive year, the event is part of the activities of the Eurocity of Guadiana, made up of the municipalities of Vila Real de Santo António, Castro Marim and Ayamonte, a fact that shows the projection and Iberian dimension of the event.
In addition to playing football with teams from other countries, this tournament provides participants with the «Mundialito Center», located in the VRSA Sports Complex, a social space for athletes, clubs and sponsors, «where merchandise products can be purchased and where there are numerous activities aimed at visitors”
“Here is located the “Museu Mundialito”, where nearly 3 items are on display, such as shirts and books autographed by the big names in football,” added the Chamber of VRSA.
As usual, participants will have at their disposal a road route between VRSA and Monte Gordo and a river route between VRSA and Ayamonte, allowing to follow both the games played in the fields of the Sports Complex of Vila Real de Santo António and Lusitano and Beira-Mar (Portugal), as well as in the Cidade de Ayamonte and Blas Infante stadiums (Spain ).
Comments