Ten teams participated in the BNFA Belmopan/Belmopan City Council Kids Cup football tournament, which kicked off on March 19, and now it is down to two teams – Barcelona (Site 7) and Real Madrid (Salva-pan) after completion of the semifinal series on Sunday, May 8, at the Isidoro Beaton Stadium in Belmopan.
Tournament guidelines specify it is for kids born between August 1, 1998, and March 1, 2002. Participating teams were Group A – Central Site (Chelsea), Piccini (Inter-Milan), San Martin (Manchester United), Maya Mopan 2 (Liverpool) and YWAM “youth with a mission” from Roaring Creek (Valencia); and Group B – Salva-pan (Real Madrid), Mountain View (A.C. Milan), Maya Mopan 1 (Villareal), Las Flores (F.C. Porto), and Site 7 (Barcelona).
Two semifinal return matches were played on Sunday, May 8, at the Isidoro Beaton Stadium. Real Madrid (Salva-pan) clipped Valencia (YWAM Roaring Creek), 1-0, on a 16th minute goal by Saulo Orellano. (Their game 1 last week was a 0-0 draw.) Valencia’s Wilbert Valdez got a chance from the penalty spot at the 50th minute to tie the game and send it into overtime, but Real Madrid’s goalkeeper stopped the shot, to seal the 1-nil win and a spot in the championship finals for his team.
In the other semifinal, Barcelona (Site 7) cruised to a 3-0 victory over Liverpool (Maya Mopan 2) to secure the other spot in the championship finals. Goal scorers for Barcelona were Steven Gentle (3 min), Brandon Benyahti (13 min) and David Waight (38 min). Barcelona had won game 1 last week, 1-0, so they advanced on an aggregate 4-0 over Liverpool.
Upcoming Championship schedule:
Sunday, May 15
3:00 p.m. – Valencia (R. Creek) vs Liverpool (Maya Mopan 2) – One game to decide 3rd place
4:30 p.m. – Barcelona (Site 7) vs Real Madrid (Salva-pan) – 1st Championship game of 2-game series
(Information courtesy of Luis Pena, Chairman, BNFA Belmopan, for Executive)