Por Pablo Arranz 
La Costa Blanca Cup 2025 will be a record-breaking edition, both in terms of teams and the number of countries participating in the two competitions: the international football tournament and the futsal tournament. This was announced on Friday by the director of the CBC and manager of Tour-Sport, Fernando Brotons, and the Sports Councilor of the Benidorm City Council, Javier Jordá, who publicly presented this new edition, which will take place from July 2 to 12 and will bring together a total of 305 teams from 30 countries around the world. With this, the Costa Blanca Cup solidifies its position as the most important international youth football event in the country.
The tournament will start with the futsal competition, which will run from July 2 to 6, and this year marks its twentieth anniversary. A total of 97 teams from 11 countries have registered, giving it a much more international character than the previous edition, which had participation from only four countries. Of the 97 teams, 22 are local, 37 are from other regions of Spain, and 38 are international, surpassing the number of foreign teams over national participants for the first time.
Following this, the tournament will transition to the 31st Costa Blanca Cup of football, taking place from July 6 to 12, with 208 teams from 19 countries competing, including 51 local teams, 80 national teams, and 77 international teams. The event director highlighted that a total of 719 matches will be played across the seven tournament venues. The football tournament is divided into age categories for both male and female teams in 11-a-side and 8-a-side competitions, while the futsal event also follows a similar structure with separate age categories for male and female teams.
The organization has arranged accommodation in 24 hotels to host around 4,000 people, including participants, technical staff, and accompanying guests. An Economic Impact Study from the University of Valencia for the 2024 edition revealed that the event generated €1.8 million in direct spending at the destination, with an overall economic impact of approximately €10 million, creating 113 jobs annually. For every euro invested in the event, €19.10 was generated in the Valencian economy.
The study also indicated that the average spending per participating athlete was €685, while each accompanying guest spent €725.50, with an average stay of 6.65 days for athletes and 6 days for guests at both events.
Reflecting on these figures, the director of the Costa Blanca Cup emphasized the continuous growth of the event, highlighting its international nature from the very first edition with players from nine countries. He also underscored the tourism aspect, stating that the tournament provides a tangible return in terms of quality. Additionally, he mentioned the intangible return where young players have the opportunity to interact with peers from around the world, creating lasting memories of Benidorm and potentially returning as tourists in the future.
On his part, the Sports Councilor of the Benidorm City Council, Javier Jordá, welcomed the Costa Blanca Cup back to the city for another year, expressing gratitude to Tour-Sport for their ongoing support of Benidorm and the tournament, which is now firmly established.
In a unique initiative this year, alongside the participation of male, female, and adaptive teams of various ages, the organization has invited a women’s football team composed of players from the ‘ground zero’ areas affected by the DANA storm on October 29th in Valencia. This team, named ‘Arrels Club de Fútbol’, was previously invited to another youth football tournament organized by Tour-Sport in Valencia and will now also participate in the Costa Blanca Cup as a tribute and show of solidarity with all the clubs and athletes impacted by the disaster.