FC Bayern Munich and Curveball Sports have today announced a partnership that will bring the FC Bayern Youth Cup to Mexico, giving young people the opportunity to represent their country at the Allianz Arena.
German record champions and Curveball Sports have come together in a multiyear agreement to create soccer opportunities for youngsters in Mexico. The partnership kicks-off with the FC Bayern Youth Cup in collaboration with the state of Guanajuato. The alliance will then expand to summer camps and other long-term soccer prospects within the country.
“Mexico is a soccer nation and home to our biggest official fan club outside of Germany,” commented Jörg Wacker, FC Bayern’s Board Member for Internationalization and Strategy. “We have been working diligently to find the right youth soccer partner in this market. With Curveball Sports we have found a partner that shares our ambitions and understanding of how soccer can make a positive difference to young people and their communities,” he added.
The FC Bayern Youth Cup local tournaments will take place in four cities across Mexico from January 21, 2021. The local series will culminate into the national finals where a FC Bayern representative will pick players to form a winning team of 10 to travel to Germany, pending travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
Alfredo Achar, Curveball Sports, Director said: “FC Bayern is one of the world’s greatest soccer clubs, having produced world-class players, including Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger. We are delighted to give young players from Mexico the opportunity to continue developing their skills and showcase them in front of FC Bayern with the possibility to play at the Allianz Arena in Munich”.
Curveball Sports is a global sports management company with expertise in soccer, managing Club Celaya - a Liga de Expansion club in Mexico as well as organizing international soccer matches and youth development.
“FC Bayern is committed to supporting and developing soccer across the Americas,” commented FC Bayern’s President of the Americas, Rudolf Vidal. “This is our first regional grassroots partnership in Latin America, giving talented players a platform to showcase their skills and a potential pathway in soccer. As we move towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico and beyond, we hope to create many soccer opportunities for young people,” he added.
The FC Bayern Youth Cup, which was established in 2012, is world's biggest and oldest international youth soccer tournament run by a soccer club with over 100,000 young players having participated so far. Winning teams will take part in a five-day program in Munich, training with FC Bayern youth coaches as well as meeting first team players and attending a Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena. The Mexican team will compete against teams from China, Ethiopia, Germany, Nigeria, Austria, Singapore, South Korea, Togo and the United States.
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