Grassroots Youth Sector bids farewell to 2023 with a week of challenges and trophies

A long and demanding 2023 is coming to an end, a year that has brought plenty of emotion and satisfaction to all the boys and girls involved in the activities of the grassroots youth sector, as well as to their families – always present at the weekly sessions run by the San Marino football hubs and at the competitions and gatherings organised by the FSGC Grassroots department. Looking ahead to the final football week of the year, a packed programme of matches, fun and even the awarding of the autumn champions title in the San Marino U12 Championship will kick off tomorrow. Opening five days marked by excitement and anticipation will be the Christmas Tournament, aimed at the very youngest age group, namely the Under-10s. Tomorrow afternoon, on the pitch of the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle, teams from the five football hubs of the Republic of San Marino will face each other in 7-a-side matches (for players born in 2014) and 5-a-side matches (for those born in 2015) from 17:00, before sharing a snack together and taking the opportunity to exchange Christmas greetings and best wishes for a fantastic, football-filled 2024. The same goes for the Under-8s, who will hold their final Saturday morning weekly session of the calendar year. For the youngest budding stars of San Marino football, there will be no shortage of chances for one last round of mini-challenges on the various circuits set up at the Ezio Conti ground in Dogana, with the added bonus of a likely visit from Father Christmas himself! Dulcis in fundo, the autumn final of the San Marino U12 Championship 2023-24. As in last season, it will be Serravalle Football Academy and Titano Academy battling it out for the mid-season crown, represented respectively by Cosmos 1 and Tre Fiori/Fiorentino – stand-out sides over the ten regular-season games in the Blue Group, played at the Falciano and Faetano facilities. Hosting the match that will decide who lifts the coveted trophy will be none other than the San Marino Stadium. For the Serravalle club, there is a chance to claim the title by also capitalising on the first place secured in the regular season. This advantage will apply only in the event of level outcomes (three drawn periods, or one draw and one win apiece) combined with a perfectly balanced goals-for and goals-against record in the final. In short, Tre Fiori/Fiorentino have no option but to prove themselves superior to their opponents in at least two of the three periods, or to score one goal more than their rivals on Saturday afternoon in the event of tied results across the three periods of play, if they are to raise the first title of the season to the sky above Serravalle. The Under-12 showpiece, scheduled for 16:30, will round off a day that will involve all the teams that took part in the White and Blue Groups of the San Marino Championship for this age category. From 15:00 onwards, in fact, the other nine sides will meet in three triangular mini-tournaments on three separate pitches laid out on the surface that regularly hosts San Marino National Team matches, recently graced by stars such as Eriksen, Šeško and Gnonto. While dreaming that one of the many boys and girls lighting up Saturday afternoon at the San Marino Stadium might one day aspire to a professional career of similar stature, families and friends will provide constant support from the stands throughout three hours of football and fun.

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