Manchester City, Inter Milan, Juventus Turin, AC Milan, Atlético de Madrid, Benfica, Porto, Dortmund… The best clubs from the Old Continent are meeting this weekend in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt (Val-d’ Oise) for the 2nd edition of the Bandeira Cup, an international tournament reserved for the U 11 category.
“For several years, we wanted to create an internationally renowned tournament with the former president of Saint-Brice José Bandeira,” says Jacques Yalap who succeeded him two years ago. José unfortunately passed away last year and I wanted to pay tribute to him by seeing this project through to the end. »
OM, OL or Lille will be there
The quality of the field speaks to the reputation of all these foreign clubs. There is even a Japanese group (Olalic). The biggest French clubs are also invited such as Marseille, Lens, Lille, Lyon and Nice. PSG, which had assured its presence, was ultimately missing because the capital club was playing a Yvelines Cup match this weekend.
Paris FC and amateur clubs from the Ile-de-France region such as Écouen, Cergy-Pontoise, Villejuif and the Stade de l’Est Pavillonnais will be there. “This preparation requires a lot of work and sacrifice,” indicates this insurance broker. I am lucky to have partners who give me a little freedom to take care of the project. »
Saint-Brice – Manchester City at the opening
How was Saint-Brice FC able to convince all these prestigious clubs to come and participate in their tournament with their U11 team? “We went through a company specializing in the organization of tournaments called My Elevent and we also took advantage of our network because my companies are partners of OM and the Marseille leaders helped me to make contact with their opponents,” explains Jacques Yalap.
“I have a motto. For me, the amateur club serves professional football. Today, any player who puts on his crampons has a dream: to become a professional footballer. As president, I have the responsibility to do the maximum so that our players can be looked at and then recruited by a professional club so that they progress and perhaps one day manage to play at the highest level. This philosophy leads the professional clubs to take a different look at us, to listen much more and they regularly invite us to their tournament,” underlines the president of Saint-Brice.
The budget amounts to approximately 80,000 euros, including 40,000 euros devoted to transport and 20,000 euros to accommodation. Minibuses are responsible for bringing players from foreign teams to their hotels. All the players from the French teams are staying with host families. Two sponsors offered drinks and grills for the refreshments.
“We talked about FC Saint-Brice on the Juve website, it’s crazy! »
The opening match, this Saturday, will pit local club FC Saint-Brice against English Manchester City. Enough to excite the young Val-d’Oisiens like their goalkeeper. “We are motivated to face these great teams,” confides Raphaël Bandeira (10 years old), grandson of the former president. It’s great to face the English. We will have a lot of fun playing against them. »
The matches will take place at the Stade de la Solitude or at the Stade Léon Graffin. Lasting 25 minutes and 8 against 8, the matches of the 36 teams present at this tournament will be played on the halves of the 2 synthetic fields and the grass half. The final is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Fifty educators at the club and 50 volunteers will ensure organization and security over these two days.
“This tournament is exceptional for a town of 14,000 inhabitants. There is nothing more beautiful for me who was born here, insists the president of the Val-d’Oisien club. Last year, we talked about FC Saint-Brice on the Juve website, it’s crazy! This tournament also brings us visibility. We had 650 licensees in 2020 and we reached the figure of 1,200 this year. »
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