The Real Salt Lake Academy will be participating in the inaugural International Champions Cup Futures presented by Rakuten for a week-long tournament running from July 16-22 at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. RSL will field a U-14 contingent with players from not only Utah, but Nevada and Arizona making up the team.
18 players will represent the RSL Academy with seven players from Arizona, six from Nevada, & five from Utah set to don the Claret-and-Cobalt for the RSL Academy at the tournament.
“This is a great opportunity for the players from Utah, Arizona and Nevada to represent RSL, the only MLS Club in their region at the tournament,” Head Coach Mike Kraus said “They will have the opportunity to compete against some of the top clubs from our country and Europe. It provides an invaluable benchmark for myself and the rest of the staff to evaluate potential Academy players for the club.”
RSL will play matches against a Pennsylvania All-Star team on Monday, July 16th before facing off with world power Bayern Munich on July 17th ahead of capping off group play against London’s own Arsenal on Wednesday, July 18th.
In preparation for the tournament, the group will be training at the Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman, Utah from July 12th to July 14th before departing for Florida.
The quarterfinals of the tournament will be televised on ESPNU on July 20th with the semifinals being carried on ESPNEWS on July 21st. The tournament’s final match will be carried on ESPN2 on July 22nd.
The tournament will feature 24 teams from the United States and Europe, made up of some of the world’s best U-14 players, with 8 teams being from Major League Soccer’s Development Academy. Additionally, 8 State-represented All-Star teams and 8 European academy teams associated with some of the world’s top clubs will be in attendance.
For more information regarding the inaugural International Champions Cup Futures tournament, click the following link: https://www.internationalchampionscup.com/en/youth/futures.
