10 things to learn about the Barça Academy World Cup 2019
1- When does it start?
The competition starts next Monday, April 15, with the opening ceremony at 10.30am CET. The Barça Academy World Cup will take place until April 18, the day on which the finals will be played and the awards ceremony will be held at the Miniestadi.
2- How many children are participating?
There will be more than 2,100 children between 6 and 14 years of age and from 51 different Barça Academies. In total, 188 teams will enter the competition, which is 9.3% more than last season.
3- How many countries are represented?
A total of 23 different countries will be represented.
4- How can I watch the competition?
The official Club channels (Club website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) will promptly deliver news of everything that happens in the Barça Academy World Cup. Both on the website and the Club's Facebook, the opening ceremony (Monday, April 15, 10.30 am CET) and the awards ceremony (Thursday 18, 11.30am CET) can be watched live, as can some games on Tuesday, 16 and Wednesday, 17 (both days at 12.30pm CET and 3.30pm CET).
5- Rafinha, the godfather of the competition
Rafinha Alcántara will be the ambassador of this eighth edition, and will be in charge of presenting the trophies to the champions at the ceremony that will take place on Thursday, April 18.
6- Talent beyond the field
Zubin, a 7-year-old who plays at the Barça Academy Singapore, has created a robot that is a fridge with wheels. He presented his creation at Robotex, one of the most important robotic festivals in the world.
7- Karen, Colombian protagonist
Among all the children involved, there are some who have stories that are worth explaining. One of those is Karen, the only girl who plays with the teams from Colombia. She already participated in the Barça Academy Las Américas in December.
8- The distance doesn't matter
There are several children who have to travel from afar to be able to train at their Barça Academy. A boy from Yucon, near Alaska, takes a flight of an hour and a half once a month to practice at the Barça Academy in Vancouver. Others from the Barça Academy in Lusaka (Zambia) walk more than two hours a day to train.
9- Familiar surnames
Robinho, Martin Skrtel and Emre Belozoglu - all of them active in the Turkish League - have children that are part of Barça Academy Istanbul and who will participate in the competition.
10- Boxing and football
At Barça Academy Edmonton in Canada is Ryan 'The Real Deal' Ford's son. Ford is one of the best current boxers in Canada, and he will also be accompanying his son during the competition in Barcelona.