LALIGA Youth Tournament took place in Thailand with 60 teams of young world-class talents

A total of 60 teams from 10 different countries have competed between 20-22 of November in the first edition of the LALIGA Youth Tournament in Thailand. This successful grassroots tournament has been organised by LALIGA together with JSE Thailand and Sambill Park. Thus, Thailand joins the long list of countries where the world-class grassroots event LALIGA Youth Tournament has already been held, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, since its launch in 2021.

 

The 60 participating teams were divided into four age categories: 15 U10 teams, 15 U12 teams, 19 U14 teams and 11 U16 teams. These teams came from 10 different countries: Thailand, Singapore, Maldives, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, China and India. The U10 category champions were Laos Mazda; Muangthong United won the U12 competition; and Assumption United were the champions for both U14 and U16 categories.

 

LALIGA Youth Tournament aims to become the benchmark tournament in grassroots football in the region through its multiple local editions and to boost football talent throughout the Southeast Asian region.

‘LALIGA Youth Tournament is one of LALIGA's flagship projects in Asia. There is a great potential of talent in the region that this kind of tournaments help to make visible. We are very happy to have kicked off this event in Thailand and we hope it will be a success and help to boost young talent across the region. The fact that teams from 10 different countries are coming to compete gives an idea of the level of competition and also the unique experience the tournament offers’, says Iván Codina, Managing Director of the Singapore Office.

 

The excellent summer of Spanish football, which has won both Euro 2024 and the men's football gold medal at the Olympics, as well as the numerous titles won by the women's teams this season, shows the strength of Spanish football. Specifically, at Euro 2024, 25 of the 26 players came from the youth teams of 11 different LALIGA clubs, both LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION, a clear indicator of the health of the talent pool that Spanish academies produce year after year to complement the arrival of established stars from abroad. These are the results of work that has been carried out for years in the grassroots football and youth academies of LALIGA clubs, and which LALIGA seeks to

export to support the growth of world football. Moreover, the recent winners of Ballon D’Or, Rodrigo and Aitana Bonmatí, are both great examples of LALIGA’s clubs' academies good work.

 

In addition, LALIGA has launched a new initiative focused on the youth and that is present in all LALIGA’s grassroots projects: LALIGA VS BULLYING, appealing to football's fundamental values: team spirit, unity, collective strength and sportsmanship. Under the concept ‘A team doesn't let anyone stand alone’, this campaign is focused on highlighting an existing problem in society and football's ability to change the rules and to promote football as a social transformation tool.