Invitational tournaments in youth football

As scouts, we always try to manage a large amount of information efficiently. To have an idea of ​​which young talents could be close to debuting in the future in their clubs.

Nowadays there are many ways to analyze a player who has not yet debuted in the first division, since both FIFA and different clubs around the world organize official and unofficial tournaments with the purpose of giving young talents a showcase and competitive experience.

A little over 50 years ago, the World Cups for lower categories were founded. In 2011 the U20 Libertadores and in 2013 the UEFA Youth League; but these last ones are not the examples we want to refer to.

It turns out that throughout the year several clubs around the world hold invitational tournaments that are broadcast on YouTube and have the presence of several scouts from different parts of the world. These include the Maurice Revello tournament (held in France, U23 and 12 participating teams), the Gothia Cup (held in Sweden, U11 to U17 and 1700 participating teams), and the Dana Cup (held in Denmark, U11 to U19 and 1100 participating teams).

Today we are going to talk about three specific tournaments in South America, along with notable players who have participated in these competitions:

1. Copa Mitad del Mundo (organized by Independiente del Valle in Ecuador)

In just two decades, IDV went from being a third division team to a competitive team at a continental level and one of the best institutions for training young talent in South America.

The Copa Mitad del Mundo, considered one of the most important youth tournaments in Latin America, organized by the Independiente del Valle club. In this, the U18 categories of different clubs around the continent compete, such as Once Caldas, (Colombia) Fluminense, (Brazil) Peñarol, (Uruguay) Universidad Católica (Chile) and in the most recent edition, a team from Ghana called Young African Promises was added.

This tournament has the presence of scouts around the world and YouTube broadcasts of all the matches. This tournament has 16 teams divided into 4 groups, the first two qualify to play the Gold Series, while the last two do not stay without playing, disputing the Silver Series; since the purpose is to give a showcase to the boys.

2. Flamengo Adidas Cup (organized by Flamengo of Brazil)

The Flamengo Adidas Cup is another of the great tournaments of the continent played in Brazil, precisely in Ninho do Urubu, Flamengo's training center. The tournament is of U16 category and has the participation of 10 teams.

With the presence of teams in current and past editions such as Orlando City, (United States) Santos Laguna, (Mexico) Independiente del Valle, (Ecuador) Arsenal, (England) Dinamo Zagreb, (Croatia) FC Midtjylland, (Denmark) among others.

Its last edition was played last December with transmission on YouTube.

3. Canteras de América Tournament (organized by Newell's Old Boys)

Tournament organized by Lepra of U17 category, played at the Jorge Griffa Training Center in Rosario, Argentina. Its first edition was in 2022 with the presence of only 5 teams.

In its last edition, the national teams of Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador were present; and the presence of clubs such as Estudiantes de La Plata, (Argentina) Palmeiras, Atlético Paranaense, (Brazil) Peñarol (Uruguay), Colo Colo (Chile), Alianza Lima (Peru), Olimpia (Paraguay) and Talleres de Córdoba. (Argentina)

Notable Players

For scouts, these tournaments have different approaches, either as a raw tracking tournament or to scout specific players and add them to the database. There are many scouting departments that follow the hundreds of players who participate year after year in order to follow their development as a footballer and even find opportunities for signings.

Some of the notable players in these tournaments are:

Moises Caicedo (Independiente del Valle - Pivot)

One of Independiente del Valle's biggest exports participated in the 2019 Copa Mitad del Mundo, winning that edition. Shortly after, the player was able to establish himself in the first team and go abroad after only 31 games played with the black and blue team.

Maxloren Castro (Sporting Cristal - Winger)

Castro is one of Peru's greatest promises, with a good projection. Just this past year he played in the Copa Mitad del Mundo and shortly after he was able to establish himself as a player in the first team of the Celestes; playing 22 games, scoring 2 goals and providing 4 assists.

Kendry Páez (Independiente del Valle - Attacking Midfielder)

The Ecuadorian creative played in the Copa Mitad del Mundo at 15 years old and soon after established himself in the first team, even being signed by Chelsea. (to join in the summer of 2025) Páez closed a good season where he played 40 games, scoring 8 goals and providing 5 assists.

Óscar Perea (Strasbourg - Left Winger)

Perea, like Paez, played in the 2022 Copa Mitad del Mundo; being one of the most outstanding players in the tournament and scoring a hat-trick against Universidad Católica de Chile. The following year the winger joined the first team of Atlético Nacional. Finally, Perea leaves the Verdolaga to arrive in July 2024 at Strasbourg in the French first division, where he has not yet been able to establish himself in a good way.

Joao Grimaldo and Victor Guzmán (Left Winger and Center Forward)

Two players who after performing well in the Copa Mitad del Mundo were invited by Red Bull Bragantino to train with the club.

Grimaldo (21) is currently a player for Partizan Belgrade in the Serbian first division; Guzmán (18) for his part has only played 6 games with the blue and white team, where he will probably receive more minutes in the face of the new season under the orders of Néstor Gorosito.

Contributions to Scouting

These tournaments give us, as scouts, a different perspective of certain players who at times have not had much contact other than the national team.

The continuity of this type of tournament is important to showcase young talents around the world.

Estrada Roberto