The ‘2023 Chungju Apple Cup National Youth Football Club Festival’ kicked off on 27 and 28 May at the Chungju Youth Football Field in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea.
With 85 clubs from across the country participating, the tournament attracted attention as the largest single football club festival ever held. The tournament added a mum division (mothers of football players and Korean mothers with children) to the existing kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, and U12 divisions, making it a true festival that covers a wide range of generations.
The games are played 7v7 in primary school, 5v5 in kindergarten, and 5v5 in the mum division. On Saturday (27th), kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade games were played, and on Sunday (28th), 4th grade, U12 (combined 5th and 6th grade), and mum division games were played.
Various prizes will be awarded, including championship, runner-up, joint third place, fair play team, best coach, best coach, best player, and best player, and the prize money will be awarded as a gift certificate to Chungju as a way to revitalise the local economy for the championship (300,000 won), runner-up (200,000 won), and joint third place (100,000 won).안전놀이터
On the 27th, the first day of the festival, the lower grades (kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade) were played. FC Kim Young-woo (kindergarten), Provity (first grade), DOOFC (second grade), and Gumi LMFC (third grade) won the championship.
Chungju Football Association President Cho Jae-kwang said, “The Chungju Apple Cup 2023 National Youth Football Festival opened in Chungju with a bang. We were deeply moved by the fact that many teams from all over the country came to Chungju to play football,” said Chungju Football Association President Cho Jae-gwang. “With this football festival, we will do our best to attract various football events and national-level competitions in Chungju, and we will also do our best to develop the infrastructure for youth football in Korea.”
Mr Moon Sung-hwan, CEO of SH Sports Agency, which organised and hosted the festival, said: “We were all impressed by how the young players enjoyed playing football despite the rainy weather conditions. “The 2023 Chungju Apple Cup National Youth Football Festival was held with the full support of the city of Chungju, the Chungju Football Association, and the Chungju Volunteer Centre. We will showcase projects that can contribute to the revitalisation of the local economy by planning local sports tourism products in Chungju, which has a good geographical environment. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the teams, coaches, and parents of football clubs from all over the country who participated.”
Meanwhile, the tournament is organised and hosted by SH Sports Agency, a total sports marketing company whose slogan is ‘The right to enjoy one football’, and sponsored by Chungju City, Chungju Football Association, Chungju Volunteer Centre, Gangwon FC, Footballist, Pocheon Ginseng Farming Association, HIGHSOL, Ha Ha Mask, Gopchang Sanghoe, AIRDOME_SH, Minds Ground, KBS Sports Arts and Sciences Institute, Sun Medical Centre, Arcobaleno Wonju, Ilhwa, One Mount, and Today’s Resort.