© EuroFootball.com
The largest children's football academy "Žalgirietis" in Vilnius is organizing an international children's football tournament "Vilnius Cup 2013" for the first time in the capital. This weekend, eighteen teams of ten and eleven-year-olds will play at the Lithuanian Football Federation stadium. The tournament is organized together with the leader of the Lithuanian football championship VMFD "Žalgiris".
"Until now, we often played in international tournaments in neighboring countries, but the 'Žalgirietis' academy is growing rapidly, with more children involved in sports, so we decided to organize a tournament in Vilnius for the first time and invite not only the strongest Lithuanian teams, but also guests from abroad," - says the director of the football academy "Žalgirietis" Žydrūnas Grudzinskas.
One of the most famous clubs in Poland, Warsaw's "Legia", as well as Balstogė's "Jagiellonia" young footballers, will arrive at the tournament in Vilnius. Children from eight Lithuanian cities - Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Kėdainiai, Plungė, and Jonava will also participate in the tournament.
"We are pleased that after the successful performance of 'Žalgiris' footballers in the UEFA Europa League, many children wanted to follow in the footsteps of the leaders of the Lithuanian championship and started playing football. In September, the 'Žalgirietis' academy was joined by more than a hundred children. We hope that the number of children playing in Vilnius will continue to grow, and we will successfully cultivate the next generation for the VMFD 'Žalgiris' team, and the first international children's tournament will become a beautiful tradition," - says Ž. Grudzinskas.
More than five hundred children between the ages of 5 and 16 attend the 'Žalgirietis' academy founded five years ago. The young footballers of the 'Žalgirietis' academy achieve victories not only in Lithuanian championships but have also won tournaments in neighboring countries - Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Belarus.
