THE West Cork Academy has drawn English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur in the opening phase of the 2025 Surf Cup International tournament that takes place in Salou, Barcelona, later this month.

The Surf Cup is one of a series of soccer tournaments that involves hundreds of the top youth academies from around the world competing in world-class facilities located in Rome, Italy, Salou and Morocco.

A world-renowned tournament, being staged between November 26th and 30th in the Mediterranean Sport Village, in the beautiful resort town of Salou, the Surf Cup International has grown in popularity in recent years.

So much so that over 300 schoolboys and schoolgirls teams, across nine age-grades from U10 to U19, will descend upon Catalonia at the end of the month.

There are 16 teams in each age category. Those teams are split into four groups of four where the two progress to contest the knockout stages of the tournament's ‘Gold Finals’. Each of the group’s bottom two placed teams enter the knockout stages and the tournament’s ‘Silver Finals’.

The West Cork Academy is returning to the Surf Cup International for a fifth time with their U13 schoolboys squad hoping to make a positive impact in venues across Catalonia.

English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, English Championship League club Leicester City, Florida West FC (USA) and Chemik Bydgoszcz (Poland) will be West Cork’s Group A opponents.

It is a tough draw for West Cork where their meeting with Tottenham Hotspur looks certain to draw a huge attendance. Leicester City are renowned for their underage structures and always challenge for top honours at the Surf Cup.

Florida West FC and Chemik Bydgoszcz might be relative unknowns but American and Polish academies are regularly amongst the toughest teams to break down at tournaments like the Surf Cup.

Depending on where West Cork finishes, there is the potential of additional high-profile opposition in the U13 age-grade’s knockout stages.

Athletic Club (Spain), Olympique Lyonnais (France), AZ Alkmaar (The Netherlands), Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia), West Bromwich Albion (England) and Inter Milan’s Academy (Georgia) are just some of the opponents West Cork could end up facing in the second phase of the tournament.

Other famous clubs travelling to Catalonia and competing in some of the other age-grades include Real Zaragoza, Real Sociedad, Valencia, Villareal (Spain), Benfica, Braga, Porto, Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Hertha Berlin (Germany), Stoke City (England), Rangers and Hamilton Academicals (Scotland).

Secretary of the West Cork Academy, David Hall, is hoping this year’s U13 schoolboys squad builds on the momentum of recent Surf Cup International appearances.

‘These are big tournaments that the West Cork Academy now regularly takes part in,’ Hall told The Southern Star.

‘There are no easy games in tournaments like the Surf Cup International and we will be bringing a big squad to Catalonia.

‘I’m delighted that West Cork has been drawn in a five-team group. That means we will play a minimum of six or seven games while we are out there. It is a tough group but our players will play lots of games against top class opponents and be involved in big occasions.

‘Surf Cup International is one of the best tournaments in the world. Everything from its organisation, structure, top quality facilities and opposition. This will be a memorable experience for every one of our players.’

Last year, the West Cork Academy U13 schoolboys played Scottish Premier club Hamilton Academicals, La Liga club Athletic Bilbao, South Korean Academy Gyunngi, Elite Football Academy (Canada) and Sweden’s Freddie Academy. Like last year, this month’s competition will provide a great challenge for the West Cork Academy.

‘Playing Spurs will be a tall order,’ David Hall admitted. ‘It will be a great experience for our lads and I would love to beat them.

‘Leicester City are frequent visitors to the Surf Cup International. They always bring very strong sides and, again, this will be a huge test for our lads. Leicester got knocked out by Sporting Lisbon in last year’s semi-finals and what a game that was.

‘The best game I watched at last year's Surf Cup was an U11 group match between Braga and Inter Milan that ended 15-14! The two teams just went at each other and there were at least 4,000 people watching. It was the best game of football I think I’ve seen in 20 years.

‘So, the Surf Cup International is like that, and a brilliant tournament. It is one our West Cork Academy lads are looking forward to competing in.’

• We will have a West Cork Schoolboys and Schoolgirls League and SFAI National Cup review in next week’s edition.