280 Monaco schoolchildren compete in Munegu Cup at Stade Louis-II
Monegasque schoolchildren are welcome at the Stade Louis-II all year round (Photo © AS Monaco)
Created at the instigation of AS Monaco President Dmitry Rybolovlev, the aim of the tournament is to promote taking part in sports and to showcase the educational values that sport conveys.
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Although the weather clouded over towards the end, sunny smiles lit up the Louis-II pitch throughout the event on Monday.
With 280 schoolchildren from five Monegasque schools (Révoires, Fontvieille, Condamine, FANB and Saint-Charles) taking part in this first edition of the Munegu Cup, the matches were played on a pitch that is usually reserved for AS Monaco players.
Organised jointly by the Monegasque club and the Direction de l’Éducation Nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports (DENJS) (National Education, Youth and Sports Department), the competition involved a total 32 teams and the final was won by the young representatives from the École des Révoires.
Following on from the Kids Tour
Ben Lambrecht, AS Monaco’s CEO, presented them with the winners’ trophy, accompanied by Nicolas Rodier, technical adviser in the National Education, Youth and Sports Department.
“We organised this event because children’s sports education is crucial,” said Ben Lambrecht. “It’s also an opportunity to create enthusiasm about AS Monaco, to get young people to come to matches more often, and to attract potential new fans to the club.”
“Thank you to AS Monaco for coming up with this idea of combining sport and sporting friendship, thank you to the pupils for taking part in this wonderful event, and thank you to the junior referees without whom it could not have taken place,” said Nicolas Rodier. “I would also like to thank the schools’ headteachers, teaching and non-teaching staff who made the event possible thanks to their presence and commitment, and the Stade Louis-II for hosting it.”
“AS Monaco is a big part of the Principality’s sporting scene and of young Monegasques’ sporting lives in particular. Sport is essential for their growth and development, in terms of physical fitness, team spirit, dedication, character and discipline. AS Monaco has a number of initiatives aimed at our young supporters and I am delighted that a new event for schoolchildren, the “Munegu Cup”, has been launched,” said Dmitry Rybolovlev, President of AS Monaco. “I would like to thank Mrs Isabelle Bonnal, Commissioner General for Education, Youth and Sport, for her support. I am confident that this cooperation will help to promote sporting values and the benefits of physical activity for Monaco’s schoolchildren.”
For AS Monaco, this youth-oriented initiative follows on from the launch of this season’s Kids Tour, which drew over 3,000 children in some thirty towns and villages in the region.