The organisers of the international football tournament for top U19 youth teams from Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) that takes place in Prague each year, have announced today that the Generali Foundation CZE (“Generali”), the non-profit organisation of Generali Pojistovna a.s. which supports socially beneficial projects, will once again be the title partner of the event. The tournament begins on Wednesday, 23rdJuly and runs for one week until the Grand Final, which takes place on Wednesday, 30th July.
This is the fourth year of the tournament, and the second time that it will be called the ‘Generali CEE Cup’. The Chairman of the Organising Committee, Roberto De Blasio, is delighted that Generali will again be the title partner, saying:
“We formed such a good relationship in 2013 that it is a testament to last year’s success that Generali will again be the title partner. Every year we aim to build on and improve the tournament, and this is only possible, of course, with a trulycommitted partner. We really feel that we have that with Generali.”
Jiří Cívka, a board member of the Generali Foundation CZE, commented:
“The Generali CEE Cup fits into our long-term commitment to support sports projects that help young people realise their potential since sport is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle and footballers are role models for their peers. Equally important is the charity aspect of the tournament, which supports UNICEF.”
This year’s tournament will follow the format of previous years, with 12 teams playing against each other in four different groups, and the winners of each group playing off to eventually bring two teams to the Grand Final at the end of the week. A full programme of activities is being planned to support the Grand Final, which this year will be played in the Bohemians 1905 legendary Ďolíček stadium. The Grand Final will, once again, be televised live on the Eurosport sports channel.
Last year’s winning team was the Hungarian youth team, Győri ETO FC, who beat Slavia Praha in a final that many felt was as good, if not better, than any Premiere league match. One of the players last year, Jiri Sodomka from Slavia Praha, was voted the ‘Generali CEE Cup Player of the Tournament’, and now plays for Slavia Praha. Says De Blasio:
“The Generali CEE Cup is all about giving young players from this region the chance to show off their skills to a wider audience than would normally see them and, hopefully, giving them the opportunity to move into football’s big leagues.”
The tournament trophy that is awarded to the winners of the GENERALI CEE Cup is again being produced by the up-and-coming Italian sculptor, Christian Loretti, who will also produce the awards for the second and third teams, as well the prizes for the Diadora Best Player, Best Scorer and the “Best Goal Keeper”. This prize is given in memory of Franco Mancini, the unforgotten goalkeeper of the early nineties, who died prematurely in March 2012 while he was part of the backroom staff of his mentor, Zdeněk Zeman.
As always, some of the proceeds from the tournament will be donated to UNICEF’s “Schools for Africa” project, as the organisers are keen for the young players to understand early on how important it is for them to support others who are less fortunate. This is also something that Generali is keen to support, both through its own foundation and through its ongoing support of the GENERALI CEE Cup.
For more information please contact:
CEE Cup Organising Committee
Roberto De Blasio
Čermákova 7, 120 00 Praha 2
tel: +420 277 003 846,
email: [email protected]
Media Agency
JWA Prague s.r.o.
Věra Rohanová
Slezská 63, 130 00 Praha 3
tel: 420 242 454 746
email: [email protected]
