This weekend, more precisely from November 5 to 7, the autumn international football festival for children called Novi Sad Trophy will be held at FC Vujadin Boškov in Veternik. Participation in the tournament was confirmed by 12 teams from seven countries, and among them Nizhny Novgorod, which comes from the city of the same name from Russia, which is also a twin city of Novi Sad.
This festival is organized as a continuation of the cooperation between the City of Novi Sad and Nizhny Novgorod, which includes the football club Vojvodina, so the boys of the Old Lady were in Russia at the end of summer this year and had the opportunity to meet the training camp in Nizhny Novgorod, that is, to play a few games with their peers and at the same time make new acquaintances and friendships.
This week, the role of the host will have FK Vojvodina, with whose resources and training capacities in FC Vujadin Boškov, not only the players, but also the coaches will be able to get acquainted. All of them are looking forward to the beginning of the festival, including the coach of Nizhny Novgorod, David Kapanadze.
– It will be very interesting for us to compare and see where we are in relation to the top football academies such as those from Serbia, Hungary and other countries from which the participating clubs come. We will participate in the festival with two teams, A and B, but I believe and expect that both our teams will show that they are worthy of the quality of this tournament, and that we will leave a positive impression on everyone – says Kapanadze.
He had the opportunity to meet the Vojvodina team during the Red and Whites’ visit to Russia.
– We were extremely happy when we heard that we would have the opportunity to host Vojvodina and I think that the visit was extremely beautiful and useful for everyone. Vojvodina is a fantastic team, and as a coach, I was especially impressed by the fact that I had the opportunity to see how high the level of training at this age is – Kapanadze notes.
The coach of Nizhny Novgorod is in Novi Sad for the first time, and he found exceptional hospitality and a warm welcome.
– Personally, for the first time, I have the opportunity to visit Novi Sad, and the same goes for all the boys from our club. For now, we still haven’t had time to visit the city, but after the end of the tournament, we plan to visit all the city sights and what Novi Sad has to offer. At first glance, the city seems very pleasant and comfortable to live in, with excellent infrastructure – said Kapanadze.
Excellent infrastructure was his first thought when he arrived at FC Vujadin Boškov.
– My impression in the training center of FC Vojvodina is incredible. Literally as soon as you pass the gate and step into the training center, you can “smell” football and feel the real football excitement. The training center is in a great location and has great fields. For that reason, I would like to especially thank the organizers for the invitation to participate in this tournament and stay in a complex like this, because it really means a lot to me and my players – said Kapanadze.
All matches of the group phase of the Novi Sad Trophy will be played on Friday from 10 am to 3 pm in FC Vujadin Boškov. Nizhny Novgorod A is in group B with Partizan, with which they will meet at 10:50 am, and the Old Airport from Northern Macedonia, against which they will play at 12:30 pm. Nizhny Novgorod B is in group C with Osijek, against which they will play at 11:40 am, and Šparta Sarajevo, with which they will play on the same day at 1:20 pm.
