Lion City Cup to return after 7-year hiatus in September
No European or South American teams will take part, unlike in previous editions.
After a seven-year hiatus, the Lion City Cup is poised to make a comeback with its 27th edition scheduled for September.
Taking place on Sep 1 and 3, this year’s edition will feature four teams — Malaysia’s Selangor Football Club, Thailand’s BG Pathum, Indonesia’s Borneo FC and Singapore’s National Development Centre (NDC) Under-15 team.
First introduced in 1977, the tournament aims to foster and cultivate young footballing talents in Singapore. Past editions have featured national youth teams across Asia, as well as developmental squads from clubs in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and South America.
In the last edition held in 2015, English club Tottenham Hotspur’s U15 team lifted the Lion City Cup after claiming a 4-0 victory over Liverpool FC’s U15.
The tournament will kick off on Friday (Sep 1) with debutants Borneo FC and BG Pathum facing off at 5pm. The NDC will then take on Selangor FC at 8pm.
The final and the third-place play-off will be held two days later on Sep 3. All matches will be played at Jalan Besar Stadium.
The Singapore NDC U15 team will be led by Angel Toledano Flores. The Spaniard has been the Singapore U16 team head coach since April last year.
Angel remains optimistic about equipping the team with the readiness to handle a range of potential scenarios that might arise in the upcoming matches.
“I have belief in our players and know that they will look to rise to the occasion, as seen from their commitment and desire to improve their skills in every training session,” he said.
Ticketing details for the Lion City Cup will be announced by the Football Association of Singapore at a later date.
