- After 18 years supporting the development of youth soccer, the Enel Cup celebrates its 2019 champions, who are now preparing for a trip to Italy to face the lower divisions of Inter Milan and witness the classic match against AC Milan in person and in the company of Iván Zamorano.
- After the championship game, Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile legends, like Gabriel Coca Mendoza and Heidi Pedro González, disputed a friendly match for the players of the participating teams, along with their family and friends.
Santiago, December 21, 2019 – In the presence of Iván Zamorano, former captain of the Chilean National Soccer Team, the 2019 Enel Cup championship game featured the male and female teams that made it to the last stage to dispute the crown in the tournament's 18th edition and plane tickets to Italy to face the Inter Milan lower divisions, visit their facilities, spend some time with the club's stars and watch the classic match against AC Milán.
The two games that defined the male and female champions were held at the Ciudad Deportiva Iván Zamorano sports facility, attracting a large audience and demonstrating a high level of talent.
The women were the first to take the field, with representatives from Lo Prado and the Palomares de Concepción Soccer School showing off their skills and, above all, fair play throughout the game. The final score was 6 - 2 in favor of Lo Prado, who were crowned the 2019 Enel Cup champions and awarded tickets to Italy to meet and spend time with the Inter Milan stars.
After this game, it was the men's turn to take the field, with representatives from Santa Inés de Calama and Taller Municipal Barrio Norte de Concepción starring in an exciting match and displaying a high level of soccer talent and respect between the two teams. The game ended with a final score of 7 - 3 in favor of the “Loinos,” who after a long road were finally able to crown themselves champions of the 18th Annual Enel Cup and are now getting ready for a new experience at the Inter Milan facilities in Italy, along with the winners of the female category.
“For us at Enel, we are proud to be able to contribute to the development of youth sports. Throughout its 17 previous editions, this important project has helped launch many male and female Chilean soccer players into their professional careers. And we hope to continue to do this after 18 successful years of creating spaces and support for youth soccer. With the incorporation of Calama this year, we now have presence in four regions across the country: Antofagasta, Metropolitan, Maule and Bio Bío, We congratulate the winners of the 2019 championship and invite them to take on Inter Milan in February 2020,” says Ramón Castañeda, CEO of Enel Distribución.
Since its creation in 2001, the Enel Cup has been responsible for shaping some of the top professional soccer players who now play in different first-division Chilean clubs, like Nicolás Guerra, forward for Universidad de Chile, Pablo Aranguiz of Unión Española and Jeisson Vargas, Carlos Lobos and Jaime Carreño, all currently playing for Universidad Católica, among others.
After the games that defined the 2019 Enel Cup champions, Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile legends, including: Iván Zamorano, Francisco Prieto, Pablo Contreras, Gabriel Mendoza, Francisco Rojas, Marcelo Vega and Manuel Neira, for Colo-Colo, and Sergio Superman Vargas, Cate Ibarra, Héctor Santibáñez, Mariano Puyol, Rafael Olarra, Pedro González and Cristian Castañeda for Universidad de Chile, played a friendly exhibition match for the Enel Cup audience.
During the event, the players that reached the championship game had a chance to spend time with Iván Zamorano, who will be their guide to Inter Milan and help get them ready for their games.
“Our dream has now been a reality for the past 18 years. We started with high expectations, but we never thought it would become the most important tournament in Chile. But this also presents an even bigger challenge to continue building as much as we can. We have been trying to help many kids who want to pursue their dream of become soccer players, while at the same time instilling values, so that they can become not just great professionals but also great people,” says Iván Zamorano, ambassador for the Enel Cup.
With this and after 4 months of tournament games, disputed in the Antofagasta, Metropolitan, Maule and Bio Bío Regions between girls and boys between 13 and 15 years of age, the Cup closed its 18th year supporting youth sports, and is now preparing a trip to Italy for the 2019 male and female champions.
The Spirit of the Enel Cup
This tournament -created and organized by Enel Distribución-, with the support of the Iván Zamorano Foundation, has extended the company's social outreach to 33 communities where it distributes energy in the Metropolitan Region.
The tournament is carried out on different community fields, whose lighting was donated by Enel under its Public Area Recovery Program implemented in over 170 sports facilities in the Greater Santiago area, as part of the company's ongoing efforts to promote youth sports.