The 10^th edition of the JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s kicked off on Thursday (28 March) with Asia’s largest youth football tournament welcoming its biggest contingent yet. A record 500 registered teams from 16 nations will feature in the event, which will take place across five venues in Singapore: HQ Arena at Woodleigh, the Lion City Sailors Training Centre, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Hougang Stadium and Tampines SAFRA. 

Guest of Honour and former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy attended the opening day of the JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s at HQ Arena at Woodleigh. The 47-year-old said: “Tournaments like that bring young footballers together. They get to embrace the tournament aspect in a great venue with wonderful facilities. These kids here are going to have memories of a lifetime regardless of whether they win or not. I still remember the first ever tournament I played in, as a child, in Denmark. And that’s how most of the players start. Superstars are made in tournaments like this. You could be seeing a player play in this tournament that in two years is playing in the Premier League, or even a year.”

Valencia CF, defending champions in both the boys’ and girls’ Pro categories, will begin their title defence on Friday (29 March) with the boys to face Johor Darul Ta’zim in their opening match and the girls taking on Chonburi FC.

The pro teams competing in this year’s event are: 

BOYS	GIRLS
Everton FCSporting LisbonValencia CFMelbourne CityUrawa Red DiamondsJohor Darul Ta’zim (JDT)JSSL FC	Valencia CFSporting LisbonVillarealOmiyaChonburi FCPersib BandungJSSL FC

In addition to the pro teams, promising young footballers aged between six and 16 will compete across 11 boys’ and 4 girls’ categories over the next three days. The finals for all categories will be played at HQ Arena in Woodleigh on Sunday (March 31).

The JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s has played a key part in the youth careers of many pro footballers, including the likes of Liverpool rising star Harvey Elliott (Fulham FC, 2017) and Nottingham Forest forward Anthony Elanga (Manchester United, 2018) competing in the professional category.

A number of established current and former Singapore national footballers were also part of the JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s ecosystem. These include midfielder Jacob Mahler, who scored the equaliser during the first leg of Singapore’s World Cup qualifier against China earlier this month, and trailblazing young star Danelle Tan, the first Singaporean woman to play in a European league.

More information about the tournament and its format is available at https://jssl-singapore7s.com/tournament-info. All Pro games will be livestreamed at https://playmersiv.live/jssl/.