International tournaments for PAOK Academy youngsters
With the U19s galloping towards a repeat title and the U17s and U15s having already secured their participation in the Final Four of their respective leagues, PAOK Academy are now gearing up for the participation of their sides in international tournaments.
PAOK youth sides are scheduled to feature in international tournaments alongside some of Europe’s biggest clubs, to gain invaluable experience. Here is the calendar:
U19s traveled to the Netherlands for Culemborg Cup in August 2018 and won the tournament. Now they are gearing up for the FIFA Youth Cup to be held in Zürich on 30-31 May 2019, featuring SL Benfica, CA Boca Juniors, FC Basel, FC Zürich, SSC Napoli, Manchester United FC and GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
U17 will participate in the Tri Series Aspire Cup, in Doha, Qatar (26-30 May 2019).
U15 won the Invitational Cup in Gothenburg last October, prevailing 3-0 over FC Midtjylland in the final. They will also be in Doha, Qatar from 26 to 30 May for the Tri Series Aspire Cup
U14s have a trip to Madrid scheduled from 7 to 10 June for the Wanda Atlético Madrid Cup. Club Atlético de Madrid, AFC Ajax, Liverpool FC, FC Porto and Altınordu FK are among the participants.
U13s won 1st place in the Dukakis Soccer Cup of Novi Sad in November 2018, winning 1-0 in the final over FK Partizan. Next up is the renowned Lennart Johansson tournament, to be held from 23 to 26 May in Stockholm. FC Barcelona, Club Atlético de Madrid, Altınordu FK, FC Inter Milan, AIK, Paris Saint-Germain FC, Club Brugge KV, PSV Eindhoven are also set to appear there. On 22 June 2019, the “Double-Headed Eagle” will be in the Netherlands for the Oosterhout tournament, with FC Inter Milan, AC Milan, Galatasaray SK, SL Benfica and Hannover 96 also having confirmed their participation.
U12s took 4th place in the Dukakis Soccer Cup of Novi Sad in November 2018. They have two upcoming tournaments noted on their calendar. They will be in Smyrni, Turkey from 4 to 8 April 2019 for the Izmir Cup, where they will face teams such as AC Milan, AFC Ajax, SL Benfica, Celtic FC, Valencia CF, Chelsea FC, Galatasaray SK, Southampton FC, Leicester City FC, GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Manchester City FC, FC Porto, Olympique de Marseille and AS Monaco. From 26 to May they will travel to Doha Qatar, along with PAOK’s U17s and U15s for the Tri Series Aspire Cup.
U11s are scheduled to participate in three tournaments. They start in May 2019 with the Salt Mine Tournament in Kraków, Poland, against opposition such as SL Benfica, Valencia CF, Newcastle United FC, KRC Genk and Wisła Kraków. They will be in Düsseldorf from7 to 10 June 2019 for the Pfingst Cup (FC Bayern München, Manchester City FC, Juventus FC, SL Benfica, Celtic FC) and will travel to Hannover to participate in the Raddatz Cup from 15 to 16 June (Manchester City FC, SL Benfica, Galatasaray SK, Fenerbahçe SK, FC Schalke 04, AC Milan).
U10s will travel to Germany in June 2019 for two tournaments. They will play for the Raddatz Cup in Hannover from 1 to 4 June (FC Inter Milan, Hannover 96, SL Benfica, Galatasaray SK) and then will move to Bielefeld for the Verl Cup from 21 to 24 June (FC Bayern München, Manchester City FC, AC Milan, Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund, FC Schalke 04, Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
PAOK minnows, the U9s, will travel to Düsseldorf from7 to 10 June 2019 for the Pfingst Cup. Borussia Dortmund, SL Benfica, Sporting CP, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Deportivo de La Coruña and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have confirmed their participation.
