Accor sponsors Junior Football Competition in Bangkok

Accor is sponsoring the third annual ‘Novotel Junior Cup’ Football competition in Bangkok this weekend (24-25 November) as part of the brand’s increased involvement in youth sports and social development.

This will be Accor’s 2rd year sponsoring the Novotel Junior Cup tournament and the ‘Can U Kick It’ (CUKI) football academy, a year long training program that provides young football players the opportunity for tournament play in Thailand and the chance to travel abroad.

According to Accor Regional Director of and Marketing Stephane Laguette, CUKI tries to send the kids to tournaments overseas in other countries in addition to hosting the annual event.

“This is really for the kids, giving them competitive exposure to help them develop their football skills in a multi-cultural environment,” Mr Laguette said.

“CUKI provides a training ground for them in Thailand that peaks at tournament time, and the Novotel Junior Cup really challenges their skills with a high level of competition because now there are so many teams from 8 different countries. Novotel plays an important role by sponsoring the tournament, and by participating we hope the kids enjoy the competition and learn about life too.

The Novotel Junior Cup had grown from just 2 countries and a handful of teams in 2004 to over 600 kids (55 teams total) from 8 different countries expected to take the pitch this year.

The tournament will be split over two days. Each team plays everyone in their group using a league format hoping to finish as high as possible to avoid a top team in the following day knock-out competition. Overall all teams will play 6 or 7 games (15 minutes each) on the Saturday and a minimum of 2 games or 5 games on the Sunday, depending how far they get in the knock-out stages.

Mr Laguette said Accor has ambitious plans for the tournament, “We are looking to grow the tournament to include teams from Europe, and we invite them to contact us. Our goal is too promote football through-out Asia and give our players the opportunity to learn from different cultures. We also aim to provide children the platform to improve theirs skills by playing against teams and individuals of the highest possible standard.”

See other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Hotels, Accor, Novotel, Bangkok