The youth football tournament, Garuda International Cup (GIC), will once again serve as a platform for young Indonesian talents. This time, GIC 2024 will include participation from East Asian countries like China and Japan.
This international youth football festival, the largest in Indonesia, will kick off from Thursday, August 22 to 25, 2024, at the ASIOP Training Ground in Sentul, West Java. The fourth edition of GIC will see participation from eight countries.
The eight participating countries include host Indonesia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Singapore. The number of participating countries has increased compared to previous editions: seven countries in GIC 2023, five in 2022, and only three in the first edition in 2015.
Wahyu Budiarto, the Project Director, hopes that this youth tournament can be a platform for young Indonesian players to showcase their talents at an international level. He is also determined to continue producing quality players for the Indonesian National Team.
“This Garuda International Cup is increasingly meeting our initial expectations from when it was first held in 2015, that GIC could become an event for Indonesian football and establish itself as one of the best tournaments in Asia. The goal is to provide opportunities for young Indonesian talents to compete at the Asian level, and then at the global level,” he told the media on Friday, August 16, 2024.
In addition, GIC 2024 will host three age-group tournaments: U-10, U-12, and U-17. Previously, three participants from GIC 2023 have since become part of the Indonesian U-19 National Team under Indra Sjafri’s coaching: Ji Da Bin, Marselinus Ama Ola, and Meshal Hamzah.
“We also hope that GIC can continue to produce players for the Indonesian National Team, as in 2023 when Ji Da Bin, Marselinus Ama Ola, and Meshal Hamzah, who are now part of the Indonesian U-19 National Team under Indra Sjafri, emerged from this tournament,” he added.
List of Participants for Garuda International Cup 2024:
U-17: ASIOP Merah (Indonesia), Guangzhou (China), Garuda Lampung City FC (Indonesia), Woodland Warriors (Singapore), ASIFA (Indonesia), Zhejiang (China), ASIOP Biru (Indonesia), De La Salle Zobel (Philippines), Diklat Merden (Indonesia), Southridge Admirals (Philippines), TSI (Indonesia), Chiangmai FC (Thailand), ASIOP Kuning (Indonesia), Vachiralai United (Thailand), Farmel (Indonesia), Fajar Selatan (Malaysia).
U-12: Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia), Jakarta Akademi Soccer (Indonesia), Tokyo Selection White (Japan), ASIOP Kuning (Indonesia), Shonan Bellmare (Japan), ASIOP Merah (Indonesia), Bijaksana FC (Malaysia), Borneo FC (Indonesia), NFDP (Malaysia), Next Bali Generation (Indonesia), Boeung Ket FC (Cambodia), Shonan Bellmare Indonesia, HLGC (Malaysia), Diklat Merden (Indonesia), Tokyo Selection Purple (Japan), ASIOP Biru (Indonesia).
U-10: ASIOP Merah (Indonesia), Tunas Johor (Malaysia), Nahusam FA (Indonesia), MJ Tigers (Malaysia), ASIOP Kuning (Indonesia), Wira Muda (Malaysia), Jagakarsa FA (Indonesia), Junior FC (Malaysia), ASIOP Biru (Indonesia), Perdana United (Malaysia), UNI Bandung (Indonesia), Velocity (Malaysia), Shonan Bellmare Indonesia (Indonesia), Topo Soccer Academy (Malaysia), Farmel (Indonesia), Brazilian Soccer School (Indonesia).