Competing for the Shanghai Tomorrow's Star Champions League, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur's "Future Stars" gather in Shanghai in August | Manchester City | Together
This summer, youth training teams from world-renowned clubs such as Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Porto will gather in Shanghai. On the evening of July 4th, the press conference and draw ceremony for the 2023 Shanghai Tomorrow Star Champions League football match were held in Zhangyuan.
The Shanghai Tomorrow Star Champions Cup Football Tournament focuses on the development of youth football and was first held in 2022. The aim is to create a "high standing, high standard, and high standard" youth football tournament, solidify the football soil, and cultivate more youth football talents. This competition will be held from August 26th to September 4th at SAIC Pudong Football Stadium in Baiyu Bowl. The competition will be divided into two groups for a single round robin match, and cross elimination matches will be conducted based on group rankings to determine the final champion team. A total of 20 high-quality matches will provide better practical training opportunities and international exchange platforms for each participating team.
![Competing for the Shanghai Tomorrow's Star Champions League, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur's "Future Stars" gather in Shanghai in August | Manchester City | Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/0e56a6e5196a9f939aa18f288bad7c67.jpg)
Except for the Shanghai team, who won the first Shanghai Tomorrow Star Champions League, representing their local team, all other participating teams in this tournament come from top foreign club youth training teams and well-known football colleges. They are Manchester City, which has just won the European treble, English Premier League veteran Tottenham Hotspur, the globally renowned star processing factory Porto in the Portuguese Super League, Osaka Sakura in the Japanese J-League, Ulsan Hyundai in the Korean K-League, as well as two elite youth training teams in the U16 age group from the three star football colleges of AFC, Qatar Asbair Academy, and Vietnam PVF Football Academy. The eight participating teams can be said to represent the top level of competition in the U16 age group worldwide.
"For Manchester City, youth training has always been a priority for club development. We are looking forward to the performance of Manchester City's U16 team in the Shanghai Tomorrow Star Champions League in August this year. This is a very good platform for our team to learn, grow, and engage in dialogue with high-level opponents from Asia and Europe while traveling internationally," said Mandes, the head of Manchester City City Football Group China
![Competing for the Shanghai Tomorrow's Star Champions League, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur's "Future Stars" gather in Shanghai in August | Manchester City | Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/60177ba739e1a50f273e20f527e3f074.jpg)
The team of this Shanghai team comes from the Shenhua Youth Training. Shanghai Shenhua Football Club Chairman Gu Jiqing said in an interview that the Tomorrow Star Champions League is a very good training platform for young players. "Training alone is not enough for young players, what they lack is high-quality games. I hope that the young Shanghai team will not have the pressure of performance, but will find gaps in the game and enjoy the joy brought by football. Whether winning or losing, I hope to see the smiles on their faces."
At the press conference, a draw ceremony was held, and Manchester City, Ulsan Hyundai, Asbair Academy, and PVF Football Academy teams were divided into Group A; The Shanghai team, along with Osaka Sakura, Tottenham Hotspur, and Porto, were placed in Group B.
![Competing for the Shanghai Tomorrow's Star Champions League, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur's "Future Stars" gather in Shanghai in August | Manchester City | Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/7682cdceb2e983fb238946f212bac4ca.jpg)
It is reported that during the competition, a coach sharing and exchange activity will be held, inviting the youth training directors of each participating team to exchange youth training concepts and methods with youth training coaches from Shanghai. The organizing committee will also invite high-level international referees from the Asian Football Confederation to participate in this tournament. Through law enforcement competitions, off field exchanges, and other forms, they will serve as a model for young referees in China and provide opportunities for learning and exchange.
In order to enable more audiences to watch this youth football feast, all matches of this tournament will be broadcast online through Tiktok, Tencent Sports, Tiger Teeth Live and other platforms. At the same time, the five-star sports channel will broadcast two semi-finals and finals live on television. The organizing committee also plans to open ticket sales to the audience at very affordable prices.
![Competing for the Shanghai Tomorrow's Star Champions League, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur's "Future Stars" gather in Shanghai in August | Manchester City | Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/39a1d943516944705d773a940e621fda.jpg)
Lin Yi, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Shanghai Football Association, introduced that after the first Shanghai Tomorrow Star Champions League was held last year, we contacted some European and Asian clubs, and Manchester City actively responded. In addition, teams from Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and South America are interested in joining. Next year, we hope to invite more teams to participate and continuously build the tournament into the highest level, most appealing and influential youth football brand event in Asia.
When introducing the highlights of this year's competition, Lin Yi revealed that he will focus on promoting promising new stars, among which Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have future stars in the Premier League.
![Competing for the Shanghai Tomorrow's Star Champions League, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur's "Future Stars" gather in Shanghai in August | Manchester City | Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/54e6d3bb1094ec6a12c52aeaa8ce8147.jpg)