The organizers of what the general public still calls the “Toulon tournament,” an international football competition reserved for youth teams, published the teams and schedule for the 52nd edition on Thursday.
The event, now under the direction of Toulon native Stéphane Abreu, will take place from May 31 to June 13 on the pitches of Avignon, Aubagne, and Toulon, as planned. The lineup will consist of ten teams divided into two groups of five. The main surprise is the absence of the French U20 team, despite being the defending champion. This is not the first time as the young Blues missed the tournament in 2002 and 2003.
Group A: Saudi Arabia, China, Colombia, DR Congo, Tunisia Group B: Canada, Ivory Coast, Japan, Portugal, Venezuela
“The FFF cited budgetary reasons and the suspension of its U20 team for the season to justify this non-participation,” explained the tournament, despite having offered “very advantageous hotel deals” to the FFF.
Last year, the French U20 team, led by Bernard Diomède, won the tournament for the 14th time in history by defeating Saudi Arabia 3-1 in the final.
For the rest, this new-look Revello tournament offers a very global lineup, with only Oceania not represented. Japan and Portugal are returning to the Provence pitches, and Canada will be there for North America.
In Avignon: Sunday, May 31: China vs. Saudi Arabia (3:00 PM) and DR Congo vs. Tunisia (6:30 PM) Monday, June 1: Japan vs. Ivory Coast (3:00 PM) and Venezuela vs. Canada (6:30 PM) Friday, June 5: Colombia vs. China (3:00 PM) and Saudi Arabia vs. Tunisia (6:30 PM) Saturday, June 6: Japan vs. Canada (3:00 PM) and Portugal vs. Ivory Coast (6:30 PM)
The first four days of the tournament will alternate between Avignon and Aubagne. The final day (June 10 and 11) and the finals (Sunday, June 13) will be held in Toulon, at the Bon Rencontre stadium.
In Aubagne: Tuesday, June 2: China vs. DR Congo (3:00 PM) and Saudi Arabia vs. Colombia (6:30 PM) Wednesday, June 3: Japan vs. Portugal (3:00 PM) and Ivory Coast vs. Venezuela (6:30 PM) Sunday, June 7: DR Congo vs. Colombia (3:00 PM) and China vs. Tunisia (6:30 PM) Monday, June 8: Ivory Coast vs. Canada (3:00 PM) and Venezuela vs. Portugal (6:30 PM)
As a reminder, the women’s Sud Ladies Cup, a parallel event to the Maurice Revello tournament, will not be held this year due to budget reasons.
