LSC plays host to international academy football tournament

May 19 2019
LSC plays host to international academy football tournament

Lockleaze Sports Centre hosted the biggest international academy football tournament to be held in the region.

The event, for players born in 2007, which was jointly coordinated by the Bristol Rovers Academy and ‘Live Adventure’, took place at Lockleaze Sport Centre across a Saturday.

Live Adventure is a company that provides creative sports programmes that include international football tournaments, pre-season camps, sports tours, coaching clinics and conferences.

Inter Milan, Paris St Germain and Sporting Lisbon, three of Europe’s biggest clubs, were the headline acts and teams from Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic and Finland were also in attendance. The Premier League was also represented with Chelsea, Everton, West Ham, Southampton and Cardiff all taking part along with Bristol Rovers Academy side too of course.

The tournament, which saw teams placed initially into four groups of five teams and then into new groups based on the results in the initial stages, was won by Sporting Lisbon, a club that has a world-renowned youth development programme and has produced some of the world’s most exciting players including Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bristol Rovers Academy Manager Jonathan Henderson said it was great for the Academy to stage such a prestigious tournament. “We were delighted with the chance to host a tournament of this nature. To have attracted teams from such a wide range of countries, as well as from the UK to take part is a huge achievement. A big thank you must go to Dawid Kowalski and Live Adventure without whom it would not have been possible to have secured the level of teams in attendance.

“The talent on show was unbelievably high and it would not be an exaggeration to say that there may be players who were involved in this event who could go on to potentially playing in the Champions League or even at major international tournaments for their countries at some point in the future. For our young players to have had the experience to play against players of that calibre, as well as against a number of clubs from a range of countries is something that will be hugely beneficial for their development. The highlight of the day will certainly be something our players will cherish as a memorable childhood experience for the rest of their lives.

“We are incredibly proud to have been involved in putting this event together, and I’d like to thank not only all the teams who attended but also everyone from the Academy, Live Adventure and Lockleaze Sports Centre who worked tirelessly in making this event a huge success.”