First Edition
First Edition
The first edition of the Imagine Cup took place in late 2022, under the name of Copa Roma-Claro. The month-long league consisted of 8 teams and 96 athletes mostly from Managua, capital of Nicaragua. The cup came to life when our founders’ search for national tournaments exposed the need for more opportunities for youngsters to play soccer in Nicaragua, not only were tournaments rare but also expensive, limiting participants. This is why thanks to our founders and sponsors, the first edition of the Imagine Cup was completely free of charge for participants. All expenses such as field rent, referee wage and hydration were covered, so that our athletes could focus on the most important thing, enjoy playing soccer.
The participating teams were:
- Zona Deportiva
- Leones FC
- FC Santa Elena
- Academia Cristiana de Futbol
- CF Internazionale
- Deportivo Las Colinas
- FC Rav Boy
- Academia Los Lobos
Specifics:
The games were made up of two halves of 20 minutes each, with a 5 minute halftime break. Teams could only field a maximum of 6 players at the same time, including a goalie, however an additional 6 players could be on the bench. The league was exclusively for athletes under 18 years of age, directors conducted a thorough investigation of each team to guarantee age limits were respected.
Teams were divided into two groups of four, after a quick group stage round, the top two teams per group qualified for the knockout stages.
Results
Champions: FC Rav Boy
Runners Up: Academia Los Lobos
Third Place: Academia Cristiana de Futbol
Top Scorer: Hector Murillo – FC Rav Boy (10 Goals) *Doesn’t include knockout games*
Best Keeper: Fernando Cortes – CF Internazionale (Allowed 2.6 Goals/Game) *Doesn’t include knockout games*
A total of 111 goals were scored throughout the tournament with only 2 red cards, proving to be an intense yet fair league.
