THE BIGGEST BARÇA ACADEMY LAS AMÉRICAS CUP WAS A NEAR PERFECT EXPERIENCE

Source: FBC Barcelona

The fourth edition of the Barça Academy Cup Las Américas was the biggest one yet and was another near perfect experience with over 600 players, aged 7 to 18 years, from 16 different Barça Academies of nine countries. The largest edition of the cup also meant a huge challenge in terms of organization for Barça Academy Dominican Republic. This event was celebrated at Los Establos polo grounds in Cap Cana, and everything went wonderfully.

Teams from the host country were the standout performers in the 2019 edition. ScotiaBank once again sponsored not just the football competition, but also the many other leisure activities for the youngsters to enjoy. Barça Academy Dominican Republic won the U14 edition with its two teams playing against each other in the final. It’s an age range where they have won all four editions played to date, and the same academy was also triumphant in U12, beating Barça Academy México Yellow in the final.

In the 11-a-side categories, Cadete (U16) and Juvenil (U19),  also got the main silverware, with local guest team Cibao Fútbol Club winning both honors, beating Barça Academy República Dominicana Blue in the former category and another guest team, Punta Cana FC, in the latter.

In the younger age groups, Barça Academy México had the most finalists with four in total. They met each other in U8, with Barça Academy México Blue beating Barça Academy México Yellow, while the U10 winners were Barça Academy Pro New York, winning the title for the second year in a row, this time on penalties against Barça Academy México Blue.

The Barça Academy Cup Las Américas trophies and medals were presented by Xavier O’Callaghan, Managing Director of FC Barcelona in America; Miguel Huller, Retail & Small Business Banking at Scotiabank Dominican Republic and Azor Hazoury, vice-president of business for Cap Cana.

Unique experience

The families of the players who travelled to Cap Cana were thoroughly impressed with everything they saw and did. The four day stay made the experience much more enriching for the children. The matches at Los Establos were combined with beach activities where they got to interact with kids from other Barça Academies, countries and cultures.