The best youth tournament in the whole world:
When Kevin De Bruyne received his trophy as the third best player in the world at last year's Ballon d'Or ceremony, Barcelona's Gavi won the Golden Boy Award as Europe's greatest under-21 football talent. There is therefore a special link between the two: Gavi is also one of the stars who shone at the Kevin De Bruyne Cup, the international U15 youth tournament, alongside players such as Jamal Musiala, Gonçalo Ramos, Charles De Ketelaere and Eric García, to name but a few.
According to scouts from Roc Nation Sports International, just before its sixth version and after five successful editions, the tournament to which Kevin De Bruyne is strongly committed has definitely made a name for itself as the 'best youth tournament in the whole world'.
KDB Cup goes to the whole world:
In 2023, the KDB Cup goes truly global, with the first-ever participation of two non-European teams: Mamelodi Sundowns and Palmeiras. "When I played youth tournaments myself, I never played football against teams from outside Europe. So the fact that a team from Brazil is coming to Drongen now is still special. I'm looking forward to seeing them play," said Kevin De Bruyne. Maybe his former teammate Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) will turn up. "I know that Gabby played there... maybe I should send him a message".
In fact, for the Mamelodi Sundowns boys, it will be their first matches outside South Africa. "It will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience for those guys, not only to play against other teams, but also to see a different part of the world," says De Bruyne. They will compete against a mix of world, Belgian and top European teams. Also on the bill this year are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Odense Boldklub, RB Leipzig, Manchester City, Ajax, PSG, KAA Gent and Club Brugge.
While his tournament is going global, De Bruyne is happy to see that Belgian clubs are still given the chance to participate as well. "I want young Belgians at the tournament. Playing against top international clubs is good for their development. Moreover, there are always a few Belgian teams that do really well. A good thing, then." KDB coached Manchester City's U14 for a while during his coach training. He saw some of those players at work at his tournament last year. "They achieved the best result ever. Maybe that was because of that coaching," he jokes.
Powered by Veo:
Veo serves as the main sponsor of the KDB Cup. Veo provides video footage and match statistics for clubs as well as livestreams of the tournament for friends, family and fans on the Veo Live App. The collaboration between the KDB Cup and Veo came about thanks to Roc Nation Sports International. The results can already be seen. More than 50,000 viewers from over 104 countries followed last year's tournament on Veo Live to watch the next generation of stars at work. "It's great to have both the video analysis for coaches and players, and the live footage for the people who can't just travel to our country," concludes Kevin De Bruyne. "As I said, I'm also looking forward to it myself. It really will be another particularly high-quality tournament!"
Follow Here The draw (Veo's IG Post)
Follow @veocamera ahead of the KDB Cup and watch a free preview of the Champions League live on 10 and 11 June.