The Sporting Kansas City Academy, led by 15-year-old Sporting KC homegrown player Gianluca Busio, opens the 2018 Generation adidas Cup against internationally-renowned Real Madrid at 6:15 p.m. CT tonight.
The Sporting KC Academy U-17's, coached by Rumba Munthali, secured a berth in the Champions Division at the GA Cup Finals with a first-place finish in the West qualifying region and will now take on Real Madrid (Spain), New York City FC and Atletico Paranaense (Brazil) in Group C at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Real Madrid's famed "La Fabrica" (the factory) has produced many of the team's biggest stars, including Raul and Iker Casillas, for a club which won five major trophies last year (FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, La Liga and Spanish Super Cup) and prevailed in a penalty shootout against the MLS All-Stars at Soldier Field. The Real Madrid U-17's participated in the 2016-17 GA Cup Finals, finishing in ninth place with victories over Atlanta United, Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) and Real Salt Lake.
The Generation adidas Cup was founded in 2007, when Sporting KC finished runners-up of the inaugural edition, to emphasize player development while providing elite competition for MLS academies. Since then, the competition has built prestige as a premier youth tournament featuring the best clubs from around the world.
Recent winners of the Champions Division at the GA Cup Finals include Argentina's River Plate (2015-2017) and England's Stoke City FC (2014). Visit MLSsoccer.com for more information on the GA Cup, including the tournament schedule, results and standings.
