This weekend, the Inter Miami CF Academy Presented by Baptist Health will take the pitch to kick off the 2022 Generation adidas Cup. The tournament will take place at the Toyota Soccer Center at Toyota Stadium located in Frisco, Texas, and will run from April 9 to April 17.
For Academy Director Craig Dalrymple, the tournament is one of the biggest moments on the Academy calendar.
“It's considered to be one of the biggest youth tournaments in the world now. Teams come in from Europe, South America, Africa, and Mexico. It's just a pure test for the young academy players across the world,” said Dalrymple.
Players and coaches alike are very excited about the possibilities ahead during this tournament. The teams each will play three group stage matches determining qualification for the knockout rounds. Regardless of results, each team is guaranteed a total of at least seven matches. Below are the Inter Miami group stage schedules:
U-15 Schedule
● Saturday, April 9 at 5:00 p.m. CT - Inter Miami CF vs. Nashville SC U-15
● Sunday, April 10 at 9:00 p.m. CT - Tigres UANL vs. Inter Miami CF
● Monday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. CT - Inter Miami CF vs Flamengo
U-17 Schedule
● Saturday, April 10 at 9:00 a.m. CT - Sporting KC U-17 vs Inter Miami CF
● Monday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m. CT - Portland Timbers U-17 - Inter Miami CF
● Tuesday, April 12 at 3:00 p.m. CT - Inter Miami CF vs AS Roma
Dalrymple also emphasized the opportunity a tournament like this can provide for the club’s young athletes.
“It gives us the opportunity to showcase their talents, to test their talents against their peers across the world, to prove to the club and to the player that they’re progressing well and moving into the professional game. It's just an absolute pure test of talent.”
As in all tournaments, at the core is competition. Dalrymple believes that the competition of a tournament of this caliber allows our players to improve their skills and team chemistry.
“There's just no hiding in those environments. You're challenged and tested, not just from the competition element, tournament football, but the type of opponents, the stress of being away for nine, 10 days in a foreign market. It's all the tests that the players need to learn, to adapt, and withstand to move into the program.”
Dalrymple also discussed what he hopes the Academy will take from the GA Cup experience.
“Where the gaps are for us as an academy, where the gaps are for our teams, the way they perform. More importantly, where the players are, whether the gaps in their current performance levels compared to the peers around the world. What we need to do now to accelerate the development move forward,” said Dalrymple.
“We've instilled a philosophy and a culture where winning is important. We're gonna go in there giving our best effort, putting our best foot forward and competing in every aspect of the game, on and off the field. Whatever happens in terms of results, that's what anyone watching our teams play should observe and commend us for.”
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