The 30th Costa Blanca Cup raised the curtain on football between music and welcome fireworks
The tournament of training categories and an international profile, which reaches its thirtieth anniversary since its foundation in 1994, honors all teams and athletes from 22 countries on four continents
The promenade of Levante Beach in Benidorm, a special international meeting point on this balcony towards the Mediterranean, was the starting point for the entire Costa Blanca Cup 2024 family. This Monday, after a marathon start with the first matches After the group stages of the different categories, it was time for the Opening Ceremony of the thirtieth edition of this global grassroots soccer tournament.
This is the meeting of 2,990 male and female players, who will compete for 200 teams, representing 22 countries from four continents. A birthday, the 30th, very special and with a welcome to the participants brand of the Tour-Sport Sports Promotions house, which promoted this sports, tourist and experiential championship since 1994. Well, that delegation of participating soccer players of different ages from sections training sessions between F8 and F11, together with their technical teams, left from the promenade, crossing Benidorm towards the L'Aigüera auditorium, where their families were waiting for them.
It was then the moment of the public welcome, a global tribute, since, organized by country, each and every one of the teams that compete in this special edition appeared, that of thirty years of promoting grassroots football by the company that directed by Fernando Brotons and Daniel Artíguez. As they appeared and paraded, the organization placed all the girls, boys and adolescents, along with their technical staff, in the spaces of an auditorium that was filled to the brim.
The last team that entered L'Aigüera was Titanes Sin Barreras Benidorm, a group of boys with intellectual disabilities, who will compete in the Costa Blanca Cup Inclusive, who received a standing ovation.
Once the teams were presented, the first performance of the night arrived with the urban dance of Bogue Block. Subsequently, it was time to review the venues that make up the Costa Blanca Cup facilities map: Benidorm, L'Alfàs del Pi, Altea, Benissa, Calpe, Finestrat, La Nucía, and La Vila Joiosa. And, at the same time, the support of Kappa, Grupo HCB Hospitales, Grupo Sala, Aqualandia, Terra Mítica and the Hotel Meliá Benidorm was appreciated.
The night saw the announcement that the seal of the Costa Blanca Cup will reach beyond the seas and during Holy Week the first edition will be held in the Caribbean, in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), from April 20 to 25, 2025.
The musical art came later with a percussion show, with drums, with the group Toompak.
The closing came with the words of the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez: “We hope you spend some unforgettable days in sports and personally. Football has brought you to Benidorm and to this tournament, which is a benchmark as a championship, and which is synonymous with integration, the values that sport instills and intercultural relations. To all, live the Costa Blanca Cup with intensity, compete with respect and be happy. Enjoy Benidorm, where we always welcome you with open arms.”
The end of the party, as it could not be otherwise, came with a fireworks display, which illuminated the sky of the city of tourism par excellence to the delight of the entire public, almost four thousand people, who were welcomed among music, light and gunpowder in the key of such a Valencian spectacle.
The tournament in figures since 1994 and its projection to the Caribbean
What do these thirty global years mean in terms of promoting sport and contributing to the tourism framework? To date, 6,000 teams have participated, a total of 95,000 male and female players, from 90 countries.
The history of this tournament, as is known, extends for 30 years. And as a novelty, linked to this edition, the name of the Costa Blanca Cup will reach beyond the seas with the first edition of the Costa Blanca Caribbean Cup, which will be held during Holy Week in 2025 in the Dominican Republic.
The Costa Blanca Cup has Kappa, Grupo HCB Hoteles and Grupo Sala as sponsors, and as collaborators with Aqualandia, Terra Mítica and Mundo Mar. Collaborating institutions include the town councils of Benidorm, Calpe, La Vilajoiosa, Alfas del Pi, La Nucía , Benissa, Finestrat and Altea.