Gothia Cup | Stoveleagues

At a glance

An international youth football tournament held from 18 to 24 July 2027 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
It was started by BK Häcken in 1975 with 275 teams, and the 2026 tournament had 1,956 teams from 78 countries.
Boys' categories B11 to B18 and girls' categories G11 to G18 are played 11-a-side, 9-a-side and 7-a-side.
Teams play a round-robin in groups of four or five, followed by A and B play-offs.
The opening ceremony takes place at Ullevi Stadium on 19 July, and matches are played at pitches throughout Gothenburg.

Venue

Entreprenadvägen 6, 417 05 Göteborg, Sweden

About the tournament

The Gothia Cup is an international youth football tournament held in Gothenburg, Sweden, started by BK Häcken in 1975 with 275 teams. In 2026, 1,956 teams from 78 countries played about 4,900 matches, and the organizers describe it as the world's largest and most international youth football tournament. The opening ceremony takes place at Ullevi Stadium, and matches are played at pitches throughout Gothenburg.

Details

The Gothia Cup is an international youth football tournament held in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was started by BK Häcken in 1975 with 275 teams, and the organizers describe it as the world's largest and most international youth football tournament. 📅 Tournament dates · The 2027 tournament runs from 18 to 24 July. · 18 July is arrival day with no matches; matches start on 19 July. · The finals are played on 24 July, and teams depart. 📍 Venues · Matches are played at pitches throughout Gothenburg, and the opening ceremony takes place at Ullevi Stadium. · In 2026, 124 pitches were used, and about 3,500 matches were played on 73 of them. · The central event area is Heden, with SKF Arena and the Kviberg pitches also used. ✈️ Airport transfers · Teams in school accommodation (Category A) and hotel accommodation (Category B) get return transfers between the airport, railway station or ferry terminal and their accommodation. · Only one bus per team or group is included, and accompanying family and friends are not covered. · Transfers must be booked in advance in the Gothia Account, with a minimum of 10 people per group. ⚽ Categories · Boys — B18 (born 2009 or later), B17 (2010), B16 (2011), B15 (2012) and B14 (2013) play 11-a-side; B14B (2013) and B13 (2014) play 9-a-side; B12 (2015) and B11 Friendly (2016) play 7-a-side. · Girls — G18 (born 2009 or later), G17 (2010), G16 (2011), G15 (2012) and G14 (2013) play 11-a-side; G14B (2013) and G13 (2014) play 9-a-side; G12 (2015) and G11 Friendly (2016) play 7-a-side. · B11 and G11 Friendly do not publish results and have no play-offs, with at least 5 matches guaranteed. 9-a-side categories may be cancelled by 1 April if fewer than 20 teams register. 🏆 Participating teams · The 2026 tournament had 1,956 teams from 78 countries and 45,300 participants, who played about 4,900 matches; teams from 13 countries on three continents shared the age-category titles. · All categories for the 2026 tournament were full by November 2025, and the number of teams for 2027 has not been published yet. ⏱ Match format · The tournament follows FIFA rules and Swedish Football Association rules. · Teams play a round-robin in groups of four or five; the top two teams in each group go into the A play-offs and the rest into the B play-offs. Play-off matches are single elimination, decided by penalties if drawn. · For B18–B15 and G18–G15, group matches and B play-offs last 2×25 minutes and A play-offs 2×30 minutes; other categories play 2×20 and 2×25 minutes. · In 11-a-side and 9-a-side, up to 7 substitutes may be used and substituted players may re-enter. Match squads are 18 players for 11-a-side and 16 for 9-a-side. · In B12, B11, G12 and G11, there is no limit on the number of players used per match, with 7 on the pitch at a time. 🏟 Tournament operations · The tournament is run by BK Häcken. · Participation options are school accommodation (A), hotel accommodation (B) and own accommodation (C). · For 2027, the cost per person is 360 euros for Category A, around 730 euros for Category B and 80 euros for Category C, and the registration fee per team is 260 euros for A and B and 760 euros for C. · Category A includes 18 meals, a Gothia Card and return transfers from the airport, railway station or ferry terminal. · The registration fee and school accommodation deposit are non-refundable; participation and accommodation fees are refunded only if cancelled by 10 May. · The 2026 tournament had 2,600 volunteers and served 486,000 meals. 🌊 About the area Gothenburg is Sweden's second-largest city. During the tournament, trams, buses and ferries can be used to travel between pitches and accommodation, and separate Gothia Line shuttle buses run on routes that are hard to reach by public transport.

How to enter

To take part in the Gothia Cup, register your team in the Gothia Account and choose a category. 1. Create a team account in the Gothia Account on the official website and submit your registration. 2. Choose your accommodation type: Category A is school accommodation, B is hotel accommodation through the organizers, and C is your own accommodation. 3. Registration opens from 10:00 on 14 September until 16:00 on 16 September for Category D (local teams), and from 10:00 on 21 September for Categories A, B and C; the deadline is 10 March. 4. Pay the registration fee within 10 days of applying: 260 euros per team for Categories A and B, and 760 euros per team for Category C. It is non-refundable. 5. Category A teams pay a deposit of 1,000 euros by 10 January. This deposit is also non-refundable. 6. Pay all accommodation and participation fees by 10 April. The participation fee is 80 euros per person in every category. 7. Complete additional orders such as mattress rental, extra Gothia Cards and special meals by 10 May. This is also the deadline for player cancellations. 8. Complete online check-in between 8 and 17 July and bring a printout of your booking confirmation. 9. All participants go through an age check on site. 📌 Registration summary Gothia Account registration → category selection → registration fee payment → deposit and balance payment → online check-in → age check. For questions, contact +46 31 50 67 80 or support.gothiacup.se.

Photos

Photo source: cdn.gothiacup.se

Video

Watch video (YouTube)

Contact

Official website: gothiacup.se
Email: info@gothiacup.se
Phone: +46 31 50 67 80
Instagram: @gothiacup_official