PES: Legends and Idols
The Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) tent in the Center Area is a place where players can partake in playing against each other in games of 1v1 all the way up to 2v2 playing the new PES 2019.
Players from many different teams of many nationalities can be seen playing the game sitting on bean bags in groups, with feedback from the players being very positive. A group of Norwegian boys when asked what they enjoyed the most about the game went on to say they thought the ’realistic graphics of PES’ were really cool. A Brazilian player said that the most enjoyable part was ’playing as Coutinho’ and ’the legends option is very exciting’.
Not only can you play games in the tent, you can also play against pro players such as Alex Alguacil, the current ’PES 2018 World Tour Co-op Winner’. You can also win prizes like a signed David Beckham shirt.
High Hopes For ASAL FC at Dana Cup
On this sunny and windy morning ASAL FC, from Kansas, USA, are doing their final preparations with a training session at the Dana Cups center area.
They have high hopes at this years Dana Cup, having previously competed at Dana Cup, with this being their third time here. Having taken the competition ’by storm’ in their first year, coming close to winning Dana Cup only having been beaten by a Nigerian team in the final 2-1, coach Hans Hansell now believes that people ’know who we are now’ and so hopes that they will do well.
The coach made it clear to his players that he wanted them to make sure they refined ’getting their touch down’ with a key emphasis on ’getting their timings down’ and ’trying to get team chemistry going’ so they can ’come out running tomorrow’.
The team is made up from players from five different countries, with most players playing together for the first time together at Dana Cup, which is why having a strong team spirit is very important.
Hjørring Welcomes You
In keeping with tradition Hjørring municipality officially welcomed the players to Dana Cup, as two teams together with mayor, Arne Boelt, and the unofficial master of ceremonies, “Krumme” (English: Crumb), lit the flame at City Stage and, subsequently, they were welcomed at the town hall.
The two teams, representing 20.000 participants, were FC Deren from Mongolia and Club Reforma from Mexico. FC Deren participates in B14, while Club Reforma takes part in class G17.
Mayor Arne Boelt hosted, gave gifts and talked about the history of Hjørring.
On behalf of the tournament the director of Dana Cup, Jette Andersen, welcomed the players to a week of football and, moreover, she encouraged the players to drink plenty of water now that a Danish heat wave is expected in the coming days.
“And you’re actually from Ulan Bator, a place with temperatures around minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter, which is the world’s coldest capital city,’ said a smiling Jette Andersen to the boys from Mongolia.
Referees from 21 Countries
The whistle sounds alike, no matter who blows in it, but the 288 referees come from 21 different countries thus contributing to the international atmosphere at this year’s Dana Cup. At this morning’s meeting for referees, it was announced that this year the referees come from Bulgaria, Brazil, China, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Serbia, St. Kitts & Nevis, Turkey, the Ukraine, the USA and Wales.
Local Goodwill in Class B11
Until Saturday everything was peace and quiet in class B11. 56 teams were registered and divided into 14 groups with four teams in each.
As a team was unable to get entry visas to Denmark, class B11 was reduced to 55 teams and, thus, plans had to be adjusted.
‘ To solve the problem one might have changed the groups, causing problems for everybody. To avoid that from happening we tried to find another team to fill the gap. Actually, the answer was right in front of us. With local goodwill Tornby IF managed to put together a team of local players enabling us to keep class B11 with 14 groups,’ head of the tournament Ole Vang Bruun smiles.
Age Confirmation at check-in
As something new Dana Cup’s top sporting body, the jury, already check the players’ age when they check-in.
‘Our wish is that everybody should play, and that all the games are as fair as possible. Naturally, the players should have the correct age to participate in the class they have signed up for. The papers of most clubs are in order but, in recent years, we have encountered teams where there have been discrepancies between age and registration. Therefore, we are doing random checks of the players’ age already at check-in, so we can solve any problems before the tournament starts.
For instance, if several of the players are a little bit too old, we simply put them in another age group. However, if it is just one player, we can decide to give dispensation,’ explains the head of Dana Cup’s jury, Finn Larsen, who has only had positive feedback from those that did not have the papers in order.
‘When we solve the problems early, we can hopefully avoid heated discussions on the pitches, where all teams must show ID for all players if the referee requests it.
2430 Matches to be played
With almost 1000 teams from 46 countries in Dana Cup 2018, 2430 matches will be played before the last winners are found Saturday night. The matches will be played on 65 pitches with 288 referees.
The most talented and lucky teams will play 15 A-finals on Friday and Saturday at the Nord Energi Arena, where 1260 medals and 123 trophies will be handed out.
The journey to the finals begins Tuesday morning at 7.30.
Center Court Action
On Monday the 23rd of July you will find some fantastic activities in the Dana Cup Center Court area on Fortuna's fields 2 and 5.
Field 2: Learn ”The Liverpool Way” Liverpool Training Session
Field 5: ”How to develop faster players” - Tanner Speed Training
Come and join us all day Monday!
The sessions are focused towards coaches and are open sessions for all coaches to attend, watch and learn.
It is a unique opportunity to get some hot training tips to take home with you to improve your own training.
The first training starts on Monday morning at 09.00 on field 5 and run all day, see the whole program here
Live streaming this years hit at the Dana Cup
Dana Cup 2018 can be experienced far beyond Hjørring and Denmark's borders.
2018 is the year where live streaming will be taken to another level - direct transmissions over the internet. The games on the green fields will be watched all around the World. '
Dana Cup is at the forefront of the live streaming.
Seven of the many tournaments fields will be set up with live streaming equipement.
In the central Dana Cup area there will be live streaming from six fields, two 7-a-side fields and four 11-a-side fields.
Around 1 km from the center area on field 31 in Højene, you will also find a live streaming set up.
In the Dana Cup center area you will find the two 7-a-side fields, number 2 and 5 on the New Balance Center Court that have been set up at the Fortuna Hjørrings arena.
At the same arena on field 4, you will find the PES 2019 fields, which is an 11-a-side field.
At HI's arena on field 18 you will find the SPORTMASTER Center Court, which is an 11-a-side field.
On the centrally located artificial fields, numbered 28 and 29, you will also find live streaming.
On all of these fields, there will be live streaming from early morning to late evening.
Traditionally the Dana Cup will finish off with live streaming from the final games on Friday and Saturday at the Nord Energi Arena. These games are filmed with a number of cameras and are of a high standard.
Dana Cup is not alone when it comes to live streaming. A number of Norwegian media houses have the rights to stream from the Dana Cup 2018, so they can send the games in their respective local areas.
At the Dana Cup we are excited to follow the expansion of live steaming, that we expect to expand further in the years to come. 2018 is the first big test year for us.
See all the Dana Cup fields here
Play PES 2019. Learn from the pros. Win prizes!
Be one of the first in the world to play PES 2019 at the Dana Cup!
Additionally, meet and learn from the best PES players in the world for a chance to win some amazing prizes throughout the week.
Signed football shirts, games, footballs and more. You can even be on your own custom PES 2019 cover. For free!
Make sure you visit the PES area at the Dana Cup and follow @officialpes on Twitter/Instagram for the latest.
Dana Cup kampene 2018 er klar
The time has come! Around 1.000 are now published in their groups. There is 45 nations represented this year.
Who you will play against, where they come from and where you will play can be seen here
We are super excited and are looking forward to Monday the 23rd of July when the Dana Cup will kick off for the 37th time.
We are working extremely hard at this time to get the final touches done within all areas of the organization, so we are 100% ready to welcome everyone to this summers hottest youth soccer tournament.
Welcome to the Dana Cup Hjørring 2018.
See you soon!
