Madjer Youth Beach Soccer Cup 2020 edition, to be held in next June will definitely add one more important brick in the construction of a pathway to young athletes aspiring to be the next Beach Soccer stars.
Madjer Cup started in 2017 with the Vision to provide young athletes and coaches an opportunity to become together and share their passion while competing and testing their abilities with players from all over the world.
This competition soon became a landmarkk in the World´s Beach Soccer Season Calendar, with athletes from all over the world dreaming to touch the golden sands of Figueira da Foz, one of the Beach Soccer Meccas and currently home for the Euro Beach Soccer Super League Final.
Madjer, the Beach Soccer GOAT is more and more committed to pass his passion for the game to the youth, leaving a huge legacy under his name : “I feel enormous pride in being part of the history of a sport that was little recognized at the time and which is now respected! If it depends on me, I will do everything to help in the growth of youth beach soccer.”
Right now teams from Portugal, Spain, El Salvador, India and Italy are confirmed, with many more confirmations expected in the coming weeks.
Madjer Cup: Hello Chiky!
It is a pleasure for the organization of the Madjer Cup to have the presence of a player as experienced as you in the event, for more as responsible for a team that will participate in the second edition of the Madjer Cup. What is your opinion on the importance of this event?
Chiky: Personally I think it’s a pioneer tournament in which young players who are starting to take an interest in this magnificent sport can enjoy competing with players from other countries and cultures.
Madjer Cup: What are your expectations for the 2nd edition of the Madjer Youth Beach Soccer Cup 2019?
Chiky: Enjoy a spectacular experience with children, to develop all the work we do in our Club, in Mazarrón related with beach soccer.
Madjer Cup : What message would you like to send to all those who will join you and your team next June in Figueira?
Chiky: Enjoy a unique experience that for many of you will be the first of many.
FBSC : Hi Luke! You and your team made history last year being one of the 1st teams participating in the Madjer Youth Beach Soccer Cup. Tell us a bit about that experience.
Luke : 2018 was a life changing experience for our players, traveling to Portugal from England for both our u16 and u18 squads enabled them to embrace the global beach soccer way of life and be introduced to friends from around the world. Both our teams made the semi-finals, with the u16 narrowly losing by one goal and the u18’s losing on penalties for 3rd spot, we were so proud of how our team adapted to the heat and intensity of the games. Our biggest achievement was making new friends from the Americas and Europe, they now have experience the beach soccer community of friendship and sportsmanship that will stay with them like their new friends forever.
FBSC : What your expectations for the 2019 Madjer Youth Beach Soccer Cup 2nd edition?
Luke : Sadly I wont be traveling to the cup this year due to putting the national game first in England where we have a big task on our hands to grow the game across all levels, I would love to be traveling with both teams but sadly sporting growth over that weekend comes first here in England and I’ll be training the teams up over the next few months as both are side remain in the same age group as 2018 but a year older and wiser, we took away so much last year and in 2019 we will be back bigger, better and ready to compete and embrace new and existing friendships, our coaches and players are ready!
FBSC : Which message would you like to send to all those who will be joining you and your team next June in Figueira?
Luke : Beach Soccer is a sport like no other, beautiful to watch and play and Figueira is a beautiful city with beautiful people and there is no better setting like it to host such an important tournament for the next generation of elite and domestic players, I’m proud to be part of this event and look forward to supporting it for many more years to come, if you’ve not signed up yet what are you waiting for, do it today!
Figueira da Foz stage of the European Beach Soccer League Super Final
The agreement for the final stage of the 2019 and 2020 Euro Beach Soccer League was signed late this morning, April 11, involving the Municipality of Figueira da Foz, Pro BeachSoccer S.L and Cofina SA
The event will always take place in the first week of September, bringing to the city of Figueira da Foz and to its iconic beach, eight national men’s teams of the European division and eight of division B, in a competition of very high competitiveness and professionalism.
The signing of this agreement ensures the long-awaited return of a competition that enshrines the sport, in the form of Beach Soccer, which has been winning consecutively a growing number of athletes and fans.
1. Steve, with 6 months left what are the expectations regarding the number of teams and countries participating in the Madjer Cup 2nd edition?
The first Madjer Cup featured 16 teams from 6 different countries (England, Portugal, Italy, United States, El Salvador, and Spain). All of the countries that were represented in the first edition are committed to returning to Portugal again – some will even bring more teams for this second round (bringing both U16 and U18 teams for example, instead of one or the other), which is a strong indicator that the first event was a success. In addition to this, there are individuals and organizations from many other countries that have indicated their interest in participating including Russia, Poland, India, Senegal, Azerbaijan, The Netherlands, Denmark, Tanzania, Iraq, and several more in Central and South America. I am continuing to search for more teams, since there is still time for them to plan a trip and make it.
2. Being the competition recruiting director, you get to know and talk to many people all over the world committed to the development of youth beach soccer. What´s your feelings regarding the present status of the sport development worldwide?
When one looks at various sports that have been successfully commercialized and have mass appeal there is a common theme; vibrant, growing, and successful youth programs. The organizers of the Madjer Cup believe the future of beach soccer is truly dependent on building strong youth programs and tremendous tournament experiences for younger players. The youth players of today are the professional and national team players of the future. The sport has no long-term, sustainable commercial appeal without effective youth programs throughout the international community to help nurture the popularity of the sport and to provide a developmental growth path for youth players.
From my experience, being in contact with hundreds of people located throughout the world, we have a lot of work ahead of us. It seems like only a handful of countries are truly vested in the sport and the promotion, education, and training of youth players has not been as strong of a priority as it needs to be in order to move this sport to the next level. That is why we are looking for leaders in each country to step up and make things happen. The Madjer Cup is a fantastic event to help push the development of youth beach soccer programs to the next level.
3. Which nations, in your opinion, are taking the lead on youth beach soccer development?
I am not an expert in the analysis of sport development but I can say, through my experience in communicating with so many people, that it appears that Brazil has one of the most advanced approaches.
Although, there are several other countries that have already established, or are in the process of creating a formal, structured system to develop the sport at the youth level. Approaches vary by country, but youth development is typically being accomplished by either a formal federation or through independent clubs, without federation oversight, that are simply focused on beach soccer. England appears to be heading in the right direction with the Isle of Wight’s beach soccer programs, which are managed by Luke Pepe Kerr. His team of coaches have fostered the sport at the youth level and they actually have had players progress through their program and advance to the English National Team, which is the kind of thing we need to do in every country to help take the sport mainstream. Then there is Viareggio Beach Soccer Club in Northern Italy, directed by Stefano Santini, which has a very strong professional men’s program but, unlike other clubs that only focus their energies at the professional level, they are also committed to the long-term vision of developing youth players and advancing them to their professional team.
Contrasting the more structured approaches of several nations, I have been in contact with a lot of beach soccer clubs from many countries that are really just an individual semi-pro or professional adult team with only a single team focus (no interest in leveraging their experience and training techniques to develop younger players). In the USA, we have a lot of youth beach soccer tournaments managed by several independent organizers, but these competitions primarily cater to traditional turf soccer clubs that only participate once or twice a year as more of a social beach picnic event in the off-season rather than a serious sporting competition. SoCal Beach Soccer Club is one of just a few clubs that are actually focused on promoting, developing, and teaching the sport of beach soccer at the youth level and has multiple youth teams within its club membership. Unlike many countries, there is no academy, select clubs, or structured approach that provide a migration path to the US national beach soccer team, so we have a lot of work to do in order to catch up with several other countries that are more advanced in their approach.
4. In your efforts recruiting teams did you come across with some interesting people would you like to highlight?
In my recruitment efforts I find a wide range of individuals and organizations that love the sport and want to develop it at the youth level. There are also a lot of inspirational stories, for example, individuals like German Martinez who personally sponsored a team from El Salvador as a means to give the young men there hope, goals and dreams (they won the first Madjer Cup U18 division in a close match against Italy). There are other individuals, groups and organizations doing the same at the local level – using beach soccer, and the Madjer Cup as a means to inspire youth athletes to go for their dreams. There is a lot of passion, but also a lot of fragmented efforts and approaches around the globe that are all contributing to the visibility of the sport in some form or fashion. Making it to the Madjer Cup to compete is now a viable and exciting goal for many coaches and youth players around the world, but our work has only begun.
5. What role do you think is reserved for the Madjer Cup in the World´s Beach Soccer great picture?
I believe that successful youth programs provide the means for niche sports to transform into highly popular “mainstream” sports because it creates the love and passion for the game at a large scale level which, in turn, also provides the fan base following needed to move a sport that today, is reserved only for a select few, to a sport that has mass audience appeal. In that context, every sport, whether it be at the professional or youth level, needs to have an ultimate, premiere tournament or championship venue. I see the Madjer Cup as being the World Cup of youth beach soccer, an event that showcases the absolute best youth players of the sport from around the world, as well as providing a multi-national and cultural experience that helps us all to have a better understanding and appreciation of each other globally. Coming together and sharing a common love for the sport through competition is fun, and it is just an incredible experience that you will never forget.
6. What you would like to say to all the teams looking forward to participate in the 2019 Madjer Cup Edition?
The original teams from the six countries that participated in the first inaugural Madjer Cup may have made history through their commitment and participation, but there is much more history to be made and several championship titles on the line as Madjer Cup 2019 promises to deliver more excitement and fun. As a leader within the global beach soccer community, you will have the opportunity to take part in this multi-cultural experience and your matches will be streamed live over the Internet for the world to see. This is the highest level of competitive youth beach soccer worldwide and will be hosted at an extraordinary location in Figueira da Foz at one of the premiere sports beaches in the world. We welcome you and look forward to your arrival! Your participation will make the Madjer Cup a continued success for years to come.
For those of you who are still thinking about attending, you will not want to miss out on this phenomenal opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of others and for the sport of beach soccer. The sooner your team starts planning and organizing for this event the better. For more information, including tournament rules, travel tips and official presentation, please check out the event web site at www.madjercup.com or contact us at rui@figueirabeachsportscity.com or socallegacybfc@gmail.com.
2. Being the competition recruiting director, you get to know and talk to many people all over the world committed to the development of youth beach soccer. What´s your feelings regarding the present status of the sport development worldwide?