FOOTBALL | Draw is made for this year’s Gothia Cup Tournament

Dundalk Schoolboys League will take part in Swedish tournament

The draw for the 2017 Gothia Cup Tournament in Sweden was made last Friday with Dundalk Schoolboys League placed in Group 25 of the Boys 16 section.

Brian McGuinness’ side were drawn alongside Vallens IF (Sweden), Etne IL (Norway) and Specifique FA (Tunisia). A schedule of fixtures has yet to be confirmed.

In addition to Dundalk Schoolboys League, 179 other teams from 32 different countries will play in Boys 16. They are divided into 44 different groups.

Held annually since 1975, The Gothia Cup is the world’s largest and most international youth football tournament. Each year, around 1600 teams from 80 nations take part and play 4500 games on 110 pitched.

The tournament has witnessed the emergence of some serious football talent over the past couple of decades, with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alan Shearer, Xabi Alonso, Andrea Pirlo and Emmanuel Adebayor having all played at the Gothia Cup during their younger days.

This will be the ninth occasion that a team from Dundalk will compete in the tournament which takes place in the city of Gothenburg from July 16th-22nd.