MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact unveiled on Thursday the details surrounding its new by invitation tournament: the Academy Festival.
The first edition of this annual tournament will group 12 teams, U14 and U15 age groups, that will hit the pitch on February 11 and 12, at the Marie-Victorin Sports Complex.
Two team developed by the sport-etudes program will participate in the tournament. In Group A, Blainville, the Ottawa Fury, the Gloucester Hornets and Saint-Hubert will join one Impact side, while Group B is made up of Mont-Royal Outremont, Hull, L’Assomption, Rivière-des-Prairies, the Ottawa Fury and the other Impact squad.
“This tournament will give young prospects with the club a chance to play games in a competitive environment, but will also give us a chance to evaluate their progress,” said Impact Academy director Philippe Eullaffroy. “In a fun-filled environment, this tournament groups together some clubs that we have created good sporting relationships with over the last few months as well.”
Each team will play five 30-minute games.
At the end of the tournament, the Mauro Biello trophy will be given to the tournament’s MVP. Biello, who is currently an assistant coach with the Impact, played 19 seasons as a professional player, establishing numerous club records over 16 seasons with the Impact. His full bio is available here: //www.impactmontreal.com/en/club/mauro-biello.
The complex will be open to the public, free of charge, throughout the tournament. In addition, the Capucine restaurant (http://www.restocapucine.com) will offer a special menu at reduced rates for those in attendance.
