The world's largest soccer tournament opens

What has become known as the world`s biggest soccer tournament, the Norway Cup, kicks off in Oslo on Sunday, and 30,000 young boys and girls from the age of 10 to 19 from 50 nations will fight for a place in the prestigious finals at Bislett stadium next Saturday.

It is the 36th time the tournamant is being held, a tournament known for bringing people from around the world together for a week of fun and sportsmanship.

This year, 1386 teams participate in the Norway Cup, coming from as far away as Uruguay, China, Vietnam, Brazil , the US, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Most of the tournaments 4000 matches are played at Ekeberg, on a plateau overlooking the city, while other games are played on smaller fields around Oslo, more than 60 stadiums are used.

Girls participated in Norway Cup right from the beginning in 1972. This was quite extraordinary, even for a country in the forefront concerning women’s rights, like Norway. The Norwegian Football Association (NFF) recognised women’s football officially 4 years later, in 1976.

Every year 20-30 teams from underprivileged areas are invited to participate in the Norway Cup, which cooperates with a number of organisations in bringing the teams to Norway and providing free board and lodging for the week.

In the 80s Norway Cup started an aid project in Tanzania together with the Norwegian Football Association, NFF. It was one of the first sports projects in the third world. The efforts were directed at the disabled, says NC secretary general Frode Kyv

Saturday, 26 July 2008 08:07