ZURICH: A remarkable slice of football history is about to be extended with the latest edition of the The Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup – the world federation’s only youth club tournament.

Some of the world game’s fledgling superstars have graced the event in which Manchester United have been the most successful club with 18 victories.

The Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, an international U19 women’s and men’s tournament, has been held without interruption – with the exceptions of 2020 and 2021 – since 1939. Other winners have included AC Milan, Roma, Barcelona, Arsenal, São Paulo and Boca Juniors.

Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid and many more have already participated, justifying the slogan that this is “Where Stars Are Born.”

Grasshopper of Zurich were first winners in 1939 with FK Austria Vienna becoming the first foreign winners in 1947, successfully defending their crown a year later. The year 1951 saw Wolverhampton Wanderers become the first English entrants.

Since then, almost all major English clubs have participated in a tournament that continues to grow in popularity and importance.

The victorious Manchester United team of 1954 contained some of the finest young footballing talents ever assembled in future internationals Duncan Edwards, Billy Whelan, David Pegg, Eddie Colman, Albert Scanlon, Bobby Charlton and Wilf McGuinness.

Munich victims

Tragically, Edwards, Whelan, Pegg and Colman lost their lives in the Munich air disaster four years later crash but Bobby Charlton returned to play in Zurich in 1959.

The Blue Stars trophy remained in Swiss hands in the early 1970s with seventies, as BSC Young Boys, Grasshopper Club and Lausanne Sports won the tournament from 1970 to 1972.

FIFA assumed patronage of the tournament in 1991, before it was renamed the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup™ four years later.

In 1999, Brazil side São Paulo became the first non-European winners, defeating Zurich on penalties in the final in front of an 11,000 crowd at the Letzigrund. European teams returned to the podium in 2003 as Roma, defeated Celta Vigo 2-1 in the final. Manchester United claimed the trophy in 2004 and repeated their triumph the following year to make it 18 wins – a record that stands to this day.

A women’s tournament was added in 2019 with the first two being won by BSC Young Boys from Switzerland and VfL Wolfsburg from Germany. In 2022, FC Zurich Women faced their French counterparts from Olympique Lyonnais Féminin and won the final in a penalty shoot-out. More history is to be made. This year Arsenal WFC will be playing in Zurich.

Latest info

For the latest information and streaming:

www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/blue-stars-youth-cup-2023-zurich-live-streams-highlights-how-to-watch

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