Gothia Cup

Gothia Cup
Founded1975
RegionInternational
Teams1700 teams
Websitewww.gothiacup.se

The Gothia Cup (Swedish pronunciation: [ɡuːtɪa ˈkɵpː]) is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms of participating teams, competing youth teams throughout the world enter the competition. The Gothia Cup is also Sweden's largest annual event. Series 4 of the BBC's Jamie Johnson (TV series) portrays Phoenix FC, a grassroots football club competing in the Gothia Cup.

Overview

Fireworks at the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony and finals are held at Ullevi, Gothenburg.

Spanning one week the Gothia Cup is a youth association football tournament held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden, open for both boys and girls of ages 11 to 18. In terms of participants, it is the world's largest youth football tournament, with ~40,000 participants in 2017 vs. Norway Cup's (the second largest) ~30,000.[citation needed] In 2017, 1730 teams from 82 nations participated, making it the most internationally diverse youth football tournament as well.

The Gothia Cup started in 1975 with 275 participating teams. In July each year, the event becomes the dominant event in Gothenburg, with (as of 2017) 4,349 games played on 110 fields, and 300,000 visitors to the center in Heden. According to the tourist authorities of Gothenburg, the 2006 Gothia Cup generated 282 million Swedish krona in tourist income for Gothenburg city and 118 million krona in tax income for Sweden.[citation needed]

Teams compete from across the world; such as from Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and the Czech Republic.[citation needed]

In 2020, for the first time since the tournament's inaugural season, the tournament was not held, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.

Gothia Cup China

The concept of Gothia Cup was exported to China in the 2010s. In 2016, the Gothia Cup China, a sister tournament to the Gothia Cup, was established in Shenyang, China. The inaugural Gothia Cup China took place from 13 to 19 August 2016 at the newly built Gothia Cup Football Park. The tournament featured 250 participating teams from 20 nations, although a reliable citation is needed to support this information.[citation needed]

Famous participants

This list includes notable players who played in Gothia Cup in their youth and later had been playing for their national teams.

Champions

2025
Age Group Winner Runner Up Result
Boys U-18 Sporting Supreme, NGA Varbergs BoIS FC, SWE 4-0
Boys U-17E Beyond Limits, NGA ASEC Mimosas, CIV 8-7
Boys U-17 SV Eichede, GER SV Rugenbergen, GER 3-0
Boys U-16 Nigerian Eagles, NGA Maryland Bobcats FC, USA 3-0
SEF Trophy (Boys15) IFK Göteborg, SWE Sollentuna FK, SWE 2-1
Boys U-15 Miami FC, USA HBK Linköping, SWE 7-6
Boys U-14 IFK Göteborg, SWE Imperial Future, ESP 8-7
Boys U-14B Minerva Academy FC, IND CEF 18 Tucuman 1, ARG 4-0
Boys U-13 SKF Academy Persib Cimahi, IDN FC Stockholm Internazionale, SWE 5-1
Boys U-12 Club Niupi, MEX Section Elite Academy, FRA 5-1
Girls U-18 IFK Göteborg, SWE AG Caen Football, FRA 3-0
Girls U-17E Minnesota Thunder Academy, USA FCNE, USA 1-0
Girls U-17 Älvsjö AIK FF 1, SWE Hønefoss BK, NOR 5-0
Girls U-16 Fredrikstad FK, NOR Sydney University SFC, AUS 6-5
Girls U-15 Enskede IK, SWE Team Odense Q, DEN 5-0
Girls U-14 Panthera FC, ENG Breidablik, ISL 6-1
Girls U-14B Volf Soccer Academy, CAN Alnö IF, SWE 7-6
Girls U-13 Makati FC, PHI San Francisco Seals, USA 6-0
Girls U-12 Pama, USA IF Brommapojkarna, SWE 4-0
GSOT 1 Special Olympics Uzbekistan, UZB Insuperabili, ITA 2-0
GSOT 2 Special Olympics Bharat, IND Special Olympics Poland, POL 3-1
GSOT 3 Special Olympics Germany 1, GER Trollenäs IF, SWE 7-6
GSOT 4 Special Olympics Hong Kong, HKG FIFH, SWE 5-1
GSOT 5 Special Olympics Germany 2, GER Special Olympics Uzbekistan, UZB 1-0
2024
Age Group Team 1 Team 2 Results
B18 Jusball FC, ENG FK Lillehammer, NOR 0-1
B17E Sporting Lagos, NGA FC Tokyo, JPN 4-0
B17 Swindon Town FITC Red, ENG AFC Eskilstuna, SWE 0-2
B16 Stjarnan 1, ISL NorCal Premier PDP, USA 6-7
SEF Trophy (B15) IF Brommapojkarna, SWE Malmö FF, SWE 1-2
B15 Imperial Future, ESP RS Sports, BRA 4-2
B14 MUKP Dabrowa Gornicza, POL CD Mercedarios, ESP 0-2
B14B Intercups MX, MEX Empire FC, UAE 5-1
B13 Makati FC, PHI Utsiktens BK, SWE 6-4
B12 Fútbol Consultants Edson Soto, CRC Vicente del Bosque Academy Orange, ESP 2-0
B11 RS Sports, BRA GAIS, SWE 3-5
G18 Sogndal FK Damer, NOR IK Uppsala Fotboll, SWE 1-3
G17E Cerezo Osaka, JPN NorCal Premier PDP, USA 1-0
G17 Jitex BK, SWE NorCal Premier PDP, USA 0-5
G16 Throttur FC, ISL Lerums IS, SWE 3-0
G15 Dallas Texans Soccer Club, USA Iconz Elite, USA 1-0
G14 Hammarby IF, SWE Iconz Elite, USA 5-3
G14B Borgeby FK, SWE Enskede IK, SWE 7-5
G13 Hammarby IF, SWE Jitex BK, SWE 2-0
G12 Makati FC, PHI Hammarby IF, SWE 5-0
G11 Djurgårdens IF, SWE Hammarby IF, SWE 1-5
GSOT 1 Special Olympics Uzbekistan 1 Special Olympics, LIT 4-1
GSOT 2 Special Olympics, TKM Special Olympics Indonesia DKI Jakarta 1-2
GSOT 3 SKF India Special Olympics Parasport Danmark 2 4-3
GSOT 4 Special Olympics Uzbekistan Girls Special Olympics Lithuania Girls 2-0
2023
Age Group Team 1 Team 2 Results
B18 Utsiktens BK, SWE Live your world cup 4-2
B17E Right to Dream AIK FF 2-1
B17 CD Inter Vista Alegre JFV A/O/B/H/H 2-0
B16 Lillestrøm SK, NOR ED Moratalaz 0-1
SEF Trophy (B15) IFK Göteborg, SWE Djurgårdens IF 5-4
B15 Burgos CF, SPA BK Höllviken/Skanör Falsterbo IF Black 1-0
B14 San Francisco Deltas Norrby IF 1-2
B14B Saleby/Trässberg/Norra Härene Hisingsbacka FC 4-2
B13 Minerva Academy FC, IND Ordin FC 3-1
B12 Barra CFIS FC New England 8-7
B11 Academia Sebastian Roco Norrby IF 0-1
G18 Jitex BK Varbergs BoIS FC 1-0
G17E NorCal Premier PDP Minnesota Thunder Academy 1-5
G17 IFK Göteborg BK Häcken 3-2
G16 SV Eutingen AS Laval 2-1
G15 Northumberland Country Schools FA Boo FF 0-3
G14 KA Hammarby IF FF 0-1
G14B Makati FC Kvarnsvedens IK 8-9
G13 Kjelsås IL OGC Nice 3-1
G12 Hammarby IF FF FC New England 4-3
G11 Lonestars SC Hammarby IF FF 2-0
GSOT 1 Olympique de Grande Synthe section adaptée Skalborg SK Parasport 4-1
GSOT 2 FIFH Trollenäs IF 2-0
GSOT 3 Special Olympics Devils Devils Hannover 1896 5-0
GSOT 4 Special Olympics HK, HK Bremer Fußball-Verband 2-3

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World's largest youth soccer cup gets underway in Gothenburg". Sveriges Radio. SR International – Radio Sweden. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 31 July 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Gothia Cup 2018". Goteborg.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  3. ↑ "Gothia Cup - Gothia Cup on export to China". 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Gothia Cup China » 2019, Qingdao". Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  5. ↑ "Visste du att… - Gothia Cup" (in Swedish). Gothiacup.se. Archived from the original on 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  6. ↑ "All Star Team - Gothia Cup". Gothiacup.se. Archived from the original on 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  7. ↑ "Gothia Cup har växt ur sin kostym | GT" (in Swedish). Expressen.se. 2012-07-16. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  8. ↑ "Stjärnorna som spelat Gothia cup - Bilder - www.gp.se" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  9. ↑ Bhattacharjee, Neeladri (29 July 2023). "Minerva Academy treading path of Pirlo, Shearer and Ibrahimovic with Gothia Cup win". sportstar.thehindu.com. Chennai: Sportstar – The Hindu News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "เปิดตำนาน 'ธำรงไทยสโมสร' จากยุวชนแชมป์โลก 23 สมัย สู่บทเรียนชีวิตที่แลกด้วยหัวใจของ 'สุเมธ แก้วทิพยเนตร'". Siamsport (in Thai). 2026-02-20. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  11. 1 2 3 "Results from all finals". gothiacup.se. Retrieved 2025-12-22.

Further reading