For the first time ever, women will also get to take part in the Blues Stars/FIFA Youth Cup at this, the 80th edition of the tournament. Six women’s U-19 teams from Switzerland and abroad will battle it out alongside ten male youth teams, meaning that there will be plenty of football on offer for fans of all ages on 9 and 10 May!

Valencia, Inter, FC Zurich, GC, Young Boys, Blue Stars – these household names all conjure up visions of sparking football, be it men’s or women’s. FIFA President Gianni Infantino in person expressed his wish for FIFA to promote women’s football more intensively, and this unique list of participants will be doing their all to prove that women’s football is indeed going in the right direction. It has certainly been growing steadily in recent years in Switzerland, and as such the big stage of the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup is coming at just the right time.

The organisers will of course also be showcasing plenty of top men’s teams at this anniversary edition. Internacional are coming all the way from Brazil and are one of the leading lights in the country at the present time. Braga are representing Portugal at the tournament for the first time, Espanyol will be showing what Spain’s youth football has to offer, while FC Koln from the German A-Junior Bundesliga will be a force to be reckoned with.

Dinamo Zagreb have long been a fan favourite in Zurich, while the sixth foreign team sees West Ham United representing England, as they did the previous two years. From Switzerland, Young Boys’ youth team will once again be making the journey to Buchlern, at a time when the club’s first team are hot favourites to win the Swiss League. Host club Blue Stars will also be there of course, along with FCZ and Grasshoppers from Zurich.