It was very strange to come to Easter and see the Costa Brava orphaned by grassroots football matches. It was already like a kind of tradition that the MICFootball monopolize the territory during these dates. The tournament had become a real benchmark and was working with the idea that the 20th edition would not leave anyone indifferent. But the pandemic came. The parenthesis was forced. Without MIC in 2020 and 2021. The wait has been long, but the desire to come back stronger than they have ever grown.
So far, three years after the last edition. With the current but normalized virus, and a much more favorable health situation, the tournament returns to the scene. From April 12 to 17, the Costa Brava will breathe new life into football. Seran 300 teams from about thirty different countries, with 6.000 participants divided into 9 categories: boys and girls, boys and girls, ranging from U12 to U20.
The presentation ceremony was held this afternoon at the headquarters of CaixaBank in Barcelona and was attended by Nico González and Aitana Bonmatí, both from Barça. This year’s sponsors of a MIC that will feature 33 yours. The last of them, Roses, with Figueres once again as the main stage, sharing the spotlight with Palamós, Lloret and also L’Estartit when carrying out the inaugurations. The reason? Avoid congestion. The finals, however, are less distributed, with Figueres and Palamós as places of reference.
From here and beyond
There will be three hundred teams and the participants, including footballers, coaches and assistants, will be around 6,000. Sweeping home, there will be 11 of the 20 First Division clubs: Barça, Espanyol, Real Madrid, Atlético, Valencia, Villarreal, Betis, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Athletic and Celta. Renowned clubs in Europe, such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, among others. And the thing does not end here, with sets from various countries: United States, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Italy, Portugal, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, Romania or Israel. All of them will be joined by the participants in the call MICIntegra, which is now in its eighth edition and is aimed at people with functional diversity. It will be played on April 15 in Vidreres and is supported by La Caixa Welfare Projects.
There will be no shortage of demarcations Girona, Tossa, Lloret, Sant Gregori, Farners, Cassà, Fornells, Juventus Lloret, Sarrià de Ter, Quart, Figueres, Athletic Hostalric, CFB Vilobí 2015, Bàscara, Cristinenc, Baix Ter, Celrà, AERoses, Begur, Gironès Sàbat, Monells, Pals, La Jonquera, Esplais, Bisbalenc, Sant Pere Pescador, Llançà, Vilablareix, Peralada, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Calonge, Mont-Ras, L’Escala, Palafrugell, Riudarenes, Porqueres, Global Palamós, Llagostera and Vidrerenca Base.
The reactions
Apart from Nico González and Aitana Bonmatí, today’s event featured other witnesses such as Juanjo Rovira, director of MICFootball; Jordi Masquef, Sports Deputy of the Girona Provincial Council; Jaume Masana, CaixaBank’s territorial director in Catalonia; and Alfredo Bustillo, Director of Sponsorship at CaixaBank. Everyone has had time to have their say. “We are back with the utmost enthusiasm, desire and strength. We have not been able to do the tournament for two years and after all that has happened we will have 300 teams, a figure we would have signed with our eyes closed three months ago. We will adapt to the situation to get as close as possible to what the MIC was like before the pandemic. We are ready, as always, to celebrate the best MIC in history “, explained Rovira, visibly excited and satisfied.
Spoon added Nico González. “I have many fond memories of the MIC. It was the first tournament I participated in with Barça. And I’ve won it twice. ” He has joined Aitana Bonmatí. “I’ve always been a big fan of it. I had just trained and was going to Girona to see the boys and girls play. I would tell everyone to enjoy it a lot because it is an experience that is not forgotten ”.
Both have participated, like many others, some of them later becoming elite footballers like Messi, Neymar, Ansu Fati, Joao Felix, Pedri o Coutinho, among many others. A MIC that, at the same time, generated a few years ago in the territory a return of more than 11.5 million euros with a budget of up to 2.8 million. This, according to the Economic Impact Study commissioned by the Girona Costa Brava Tourism Board. This year’s figures will not be the same, but the goal is to gradually get closer.
