- The winners of the tournament will start their preparation for the Integration Cup that will be played against the sub 13 and 15 of Inter Milan in October.
- For three months, more than 150 teams from three regions of the country gave life to the tournament, which is positioned as the most important school championship in Chile, and which ambassador is the historic captain of the Chilean soccer team, Iván Zamorano.
Santiago, September 22, 2018. With the presence of the Minister of Sports, Pauline Kantor, this morning was the final day of the 2018 Enel Cup, which featured the male and female selections of youth from Independencia, who became the new champions of the event. The competition was led by the Enel Cup ambassador, Ivan Zamorano, who awarded the Cup to the winning boys and girls and urged them to prepare now for the Integration Cup they will play in Italy next October, against selected teams of Inter Milan.
The sports festival was held at the Chimkowe Sports Complex in Peñalolén, where the Mayors of Independencia, Gonzalo Durán; Lo Prado, Maximiliano Ríos; and Peñalolén, Carolina Leitao, participated along with the fans from the municipalities and the representatives of regions that traveled to Santiago to cheer for their teams.
For Enel Chile’s CEO, Nicola Cotugno, the Enel Cup is an initiative that aims to promote social development, through sports as a collective tool. "The Enel Cup, which has been held for 17 years in the country, allows us to further strengthen the work we have been developing with the communities. Soccer is a sport that promotes collective work, companionship, tolerance, loyalty, elements that we must cultivate in children and their environment. In addition, this year we added more regions to the tournament so it takes on a more regional character and we can reach more areas," said the executive.
For his part, Ivan Zamorano emphasized the benefits of sports activity in young people’s lives. "This a spectacular tournament that delivers a unique experience to youth. Through collective work we encourage effort, companionship, and that is exactly what we are looking for with the Foundation (Zamorano), to link this type of initiatives with people and thus contribute to improving the quality of life, instilling values such as overcoming hardships and solidarity," said the former captain of the Chilean national team.
The participation of the selection of women from the Catholic University of Concepción, who took second place in the competition, was highlighted in this version. For the first time in the 17-year history of the Enel Cup, a regional team advanced to second place and won a trip to Brazil as a reward.
More than 150 teams from the Metropolitan, Maule, and Biobío regions participated in the nearly three- month- long competition, which in its 2018 version, celebrates 17 years of history in the country, consolidating the Enel Cup as the most important youth soccer championship of Chile, from which important and outstanding professional players have already emerged, who currently compete in international soccer.
More than 100,000 boys and girls have played on the fields where the Enel Cup takes place. The championship, in the central zone, takes place in 8 municipal multi-sports fields that were illuminated by Enel as part of its Public Spaces Recovery Program, through which more than 170 sports venues have been implemented in Greater Santiago, in the company’s ongoing effort to promote sports amongst youth.
This year the tournament was held in four places in the country: the central zone with the districts of San Clemente and Colbún; the southern zone, with the districts of Concepción and Lota, and Santiago, with the north-east and south-west zones.
The 2018 Enel Cup includes a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the team coming in third; a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for second place; and the grand prize for the winners, a trip to Italy with Iván Zamorano, where the teams of boys and girls will play against the selections of minors of Inter Milan.
Fruit of all the work behind this project, is the fact that today, among the youth who have participated in the Enel Cup, there are athletes who are now on the Chilean national team, who are Olympic medalists, professional players, and hundreds of them play in the lower divisions of the most important clubs in the country.