Youth Football: 1st San Marino Talent Cup kicks off tomorrow

There is very little time left until the start of the 1st San Marino Talent Cup, the youth tournament organised by the FSGC as part of the “Talent Development Scheme” project promoted by FIFA. Six teams will line up at the start, divided into two groups of three. Among them – all competing in the Italian national Under-18 and Under-19 leagues – is also the Primavera side of San Marino Academy, placed in Group A and set to make their debut tomorrow at 16:00 against Ravenna U19 at the Acquaviva Stadium. At the same time, but on the pitch in Dogana, Cesena U18 and Forlì U19 will face each other. Bologna U18 and Perugia U19 will sit out. On Thursday San Marino Academy will be back in action in Acquaviva, kicking off at 16:00 against Bologna, while in Dogana the meeting between Forlì and Perugia will take place.

The final matchday of the group stage will be on Saturday, with Academy and Forlì idle. In Acquaviva (16:00) Bologna will face Ravenna, while in Dogana Cesena will take on Perugia. Monday 25 August will be Finals Day: the play-off for 5th-6th place and that for 3rd-4th place will precede the grand final, scheduled for 19:30 at the Ezio Conti in Dogana. All tournament matches will be 90 minutes and draws are not allowed. In line with what happens in UEFA Development Tournaments, if the match is level after regular time the outcome will be decided directly by a penalty shoot-out. Victory on penalties is worth 2 points (and 1 point to the losing team); winning in 90 minutes earns the usual 3 points.