Salou hosts the Mare Nostrum Cup, the most important soccer tournament on the Costa Daurada

Costa Dorada. 31 March 2023. Between April 6 and 9, 2023, Salou will host the XXII edition of the Mare Nostrum Cup, the most important soccer tournament on the Costa Daurada. It will mobilize more than 25,000 people (including footballers and companions), 390 teams that will compete in 40 sports fields, some located in 9 other towns in the Camp de Tarragona, with an expected economic impact of 7.5 million euros. Participants will stay in 11 different hotels in Salou and other neighboring towns.

The figures are dizzying, but it cannot be otherwise when this competition has been growing and strengthening in recent years. Without going any further, from last year's edition to the current one, 100 more teams will participate, that is, a 25 percent increase, which means an economic impact, overnight stays, etc.

The tournament is aimed at soccer players between the ages of 8 and 18. Of the 14 categories of the championship, 10 are masculine and 4 feminine. The teams come from Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarra, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, while internationally there will be teams from the United States, Mexico, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Finland and Lithuania.

The inauguration of the Mare Nostrum Cup will take place on April 6, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., with a parade of the participating teams along Passeig Jaume I, which last year brought together more than 3,000 people.

The Mare Nostrum Cup tournament will be held at the Salou Sports Center Football facilities. But there will also be matches in the municipal stadiums of Salou, Les Borges del Camp, Riudoms, Torredembarra, Alcover, Reus, Tarragona, Morell, Constantí, Altafulla and La Canonja.

The finals will take place on April 9, 2023 and the awards ceremony is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on the same day.

Experience and solidarity

Mare Nostrum Cup, the organizer of the tournament, together with the Tourist Board and the Salou City Council, want this championship to be a complete experience for the participants and their companions. Thus, in addition to the competition itself, complementary cultural activities are carried out such as gamer competitions, cultural events with the Gegants de Salou and the Batucada; vermouth time and freestylers, who will offer performances on soccer fields and hotels, as explained by Albert Viñas, CEO and co-founder of the Mare Nostrum Cup. Along the same lines, he has announced agreements with the Shopping Salou merchants association and with the tourist train.

Another aspect of the Mare Nostrum Cup is its desire for solidarity, so that each year the proceeds from the tickets to the matches are donated to a charitable cause. This 2023 will be used for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

As far as sustainability is concerned, this year the lathe is advancing in the reduction of plastics and for this reason the water will be supplied directly from sources.

In the presentation of the championship, the mayor of Salou, Pere Granados, recalled the work that the municipality has been doing for some time to promote itself as a first-rate sports destination, as demonstrated by Salou's sports calendar for this 2023. The enviable infrastructure. The sports center of the municipality is, without a doubt, one of its strongest points, with almost 50 facilities, which will soon increase with the 40-hectare project for the Ciudad Deportiva de Salou.

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