The Viareggio Tournament — officially known as the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament – Carnival Cup since 2009 — is an international football competition reserved for youth teams, organized by the Centro Giovani Calciatori in the Tuscan town of the same name.
Story and formula
After the creation of the Centro Giovani Calciatori on 20 November 1947, the president Torquato Bresciani elaborated the idea of an international tournament limited to youth teams: a general rehearsal already took place in February 1948 with the participation of the city bars. The first official edition therefore took place in 1949, from the Monday following the first Sunday of Carnival to the Monday following the third Sunday of the same festival: the trophy up for grabs reproduced Burlamacco, the official mask of the Viareggio tradition.
The regulatory apparatus knew a fixed structure starting from 1958:
Presence of at least 16 participating formations;
Italian rounds with qualification of the top two and possible repechage (preliminary rounds with two-way matches until 1974);
Knockout phase divided into single matches, with possible overtime and penalties;
Gaming venues located throughout Tuscany and in neighboring regions;
Age limit moved to 18 from 2022, previously set at 19 or 21.
This latest novelty has, in fact, reserved the registration for the tournament to the Under-18 teams and no longer to the Primavera as was customary up until then.
Juventus and Milan are the most titled clubs with 9 wins each, followed by Inter and Fiorentina with 8 ex aequo.
Logos
The Viareggio Cup symbol consists of three visual elements. In the graphic symbol we can distinguish the upper element which represents a cut V, the letter which distinguishes the initial of the city of Viareggio. The five half moons want to represent the confetti present in the city of Viareggio on the occasion of the Carnival which takes place in conjunction with the football tournament. The half moons represent the Olympic circles, i.e. the 5 continents, in order to underline the international nature of the football tournament. The central element of the graphic symbol represents a stylized soccer ball. Under the graphic symbol, the words Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament and the wording Coppa Carnevale, which represents the history of the football tournament.
