Sixty teams are competing in the first round of this sporting event, which will generate 23,000 tourist overnight stays until next July 6
The Costa Blanca Cup FutSal Tournament brings together in Benidorm 700 young athletes from four countries
The mayor welcomes the participants in the opening gala and wishes players, coaches and families to "make the most of" their stay
The Costa Blanca Cup ball has begun to roll in the thirtieth edition of this sporting event, one of the great events of the summer in Benidorm and which this year for the first time will be played in two different phases: the first, dedicated to futsal; and the second, focused on football. On Wednesday night, the Benidorm Palace nightclub hosted the inaugural gala of the FutSal Tournament, in which a total of 700 young athletes from four countries – Spain, France, England and Poland – will participate until next Sunday, On the 30th they will take over football.
The evening started with a parade of the 60 participating teams, starting with the representatives of the Valencian Community, who were followed by players from the rest of the autonomies and countries, until ending with the French, English and Polish athletes who will also compete in the Cup. After welcoming, the gala continued with a modern dance show by the Boogie Block academy and another magic show led by David Climent, with which the ball that will star in the indoor soccer matches arrived on stage.
The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, and the Sports Councilor, Javier Jordá, accompanied all the participants, along with the tournament director and Tour-Sport manager, Fernando Brotons, and other members of the Municipal Corporation. The first mayor was in charge of taking the honorary kick-off and welcoming all the young people, technicians, managers and families who have travelled to Benidorm during these days. Toni Pérez highlighted the link that unites the city with the Costa Blanca Cup. “You are at home; in this common home that is the Costa Blanca Cup FutSal, a benchmark tournament in Europe that creates community, both among the participants and among the cities that host this competition."
Likewise, the mayor applauded that sporting events like this one “instil values such as respect, coexistence, sportsmanship, education and empathy; values that I hope will always accompany you in your personal and sporting life and that are key now and will also be key in the society of the future", after which he wished "the best of luck" to all the participants and that they "enjoy and make the most of the maximum these five days of futsal and may the competition bring you many joys and learnings.” Finally, conveys the city's commitment to all of them: "Benidorm will ensure that you also find happiness off the field and that your moments of leisure and rest are also as rewarding or more rewarding so that you always remember Benidorm as the “place where you lived the best futsal holidays, friends and family.”
The tournament figures
For the first time this year, the Costa Blanca Cup has separated the soccer and futsal tournaments due to the large volume of participants, which continues to exceed each year. In this thirtieth edition there will be a total of 60 futsal teams and 200 soccer teams from 22 different countries and 12 of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities.
More than 600 matches will be played between the two sports modalities, which will be distributed until July 6 in the eight venues that the organization has. Futsal matches will be held on five different fields, while for football matches there will be 19 fields available. As in previous editions, the men's and women's categories are maintained, as well as adapted football.
Throughout the two weeks of this tournament, there will be 23,000 overnight stays in Benidorm and a turnover of close to one million euros, as reported by sources from the organization. Furthermore, in the 30 years of competition, around 6,000 teams and 95,000 players from 90 countries have passed through the event.
