Top 10 things to know about the National Neighborhoods Cup

1. The National District Cup was created in 2019 in Créteil

The National Neighborhoods Cup, originally CAN neighborhoods (we explain that in the point just below) was born in Créteil, in the summer of 2019. It is a totally amateur tournament, organized independently of the municipality, associations or any other center. It was just regular meetings, organized in the evening between different young people from the city of Créteil who were relayed on social networks.

Indeed, the creators wanted to reproduce the CAN tournament with the inhabitants of Créteil. The matches, in particular the Morocco-Tunisia final, took on such importance that very quickly, the whole of Ile-de-France was aware of this organization. And here is the neighborhood CAN was born.

2. This competition is directly inspired by the CAN (hence its original name)

This competition is inspired by the African Cup of Nations which took place the same year in Senegal. About 3 weeks before the real CAN, the CAN of Ile-de-France (in particular that of Créteil and Evry which made a lot of noise about them) were organized.

Given that, as we know, there are many populations of mixed cultural affiliations in these neighborhoods, the principle was to play for their country of origin for all multicultural people. That’s how teams like that of Senegal, Algeria, or Morocco (essentially African countries, but not only) were formed little by little, with the different diasporas.

3. For the first time in its history, the final of the National Neighborhoods Cup will be broadcast

And here we are, we finally arrive at the most important point of this top, the AFCON neighborhoods will become the National Cup of neighborhoods and the final will be broadcast on Amazon Prime on July 2. The final is scheduled for the Duvauchelle stadium in Créteil, in the city that saw the birth of this competition.

In addition to that, the National District Cup is now sponsored by Nike Paris, Heetch, or the city of Créteil. Proof that this movement is taking on a real scale, in any case we expect it even more than the World Cup in Qatar, there will be more spectacle, no doubt about it.

4. It opposes teams by country, region, even religion

As we explained in point 2, the neighborhood CAN basically brought together players according to their origins, but it also happened to have teams from overseas regions, or even religions. In the Bondy CAN, a match between FC Muslim and AS Chrétien (yes, they had no inspiration on the names) caused a stir. It was FC Muslim who won 5 goals to 3, and this match had a lot of fun on social networks.

Today, with the extension of the CAN, at the neighborhood World Cup, there will inevitably be a French team, whose captain is none other than David Chevalier, a 35-year-old amateur player from the US Créteil, known to the tournament organizers. The teams will therefore no longer be limited to African countries but to all the countries of the world, which the amateur players present in the neighborhoods in question may possibly represent.

5. The neighborhood CAN was supported by big players or rappers from these neighborhoods

Originally, when the neighborhood CAN was organized, very quickly sponsors from the world of sport or music came to support the teams of the countries from which they originated.

The rapper La Fouine in 2019 supported for example Morocco, his country of origin. This is also the case of Drogba, Benzema or Niska who applauded the initiative and gave their support respectively to Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria and Congo Brazzaville.

6. The winners of the last edition are the Moroccans

In 2019, Morocco won its first neighborhood CAN against Tunisia in a final that took place under the cries of nearly 4,000 people present. The Moroccans had won the match 9 goals against 4 in Créteil in an atmosphere of madness (with a few smoke bombs and a small barbecue as a bonus).

It catches up a bit with the course of the Moroccan national team which was knocked out by Benin in the round of 16 of the real CAN 2019, we haven’t forgotten the guys, don’t pretend not to understand.

7. The creator of this tournament is called Moussa Sow, and his goal was to “bring his neighborhood together”

And who is behind all this? Just a guy who was a little bored and whose name is Moussa Sow.

Moussa Sow was interviewed on RMC’s After Foot program to explain the genesis of his project. He says that in his neighborhood, at each classico, fans of Barça and Real then clashed in a five. On the occasion of the CAN 2019, Moussa Sow wanted to extend this idea, so he gathered 8 of his friends and told them: “Here you are going to recruit me 15 Franco-Algerians, 15 Franco-Malians, 15 Franco-Tunisians etc, but who come from all the districts of the city of Créteil”. That was the idea.

Obviously, it worked, even if at the level of the infrastructures the organization was complicated at first. The city of Créteil finally took an interest in the project and a reservation schedule for the city’s stadiums was put in place. Now Moussa Sow is aiming higher: a National District Cup, with many different nations, to “honor” the 2022 World Cup.

8. It’s a knockout tournament, so with even more pressure on the teams

As for the rules of the tournament, there were variations depending on the city. In Créteil, the 16 teams formed faced each other in direct elimination matches with the principle of sudden death, too good, we love the big drops of stress that bead on the foreheads of spectators and players. Whoever loses is eliminated from the competition, and whoever wins continues. Quite simple in principle in the end, and that’s what made it possible to condense the whole competition into just 3 weeks before the start of CAN 2019.

9. The CAN concept of the districts of Créteil has been taken up in many cities in France

It is thanks to the enthusiasm generated by this CAN de Créteil that the competition can develop into the National District Cup this year. Indeed, very shortly after the inhabitants of Créteil relayed their CAN on the networks, many other towns/districts reproduced the same pattern. This was particularly the case in Evry, whose CAN has also grown considerably, or in the Goutte d’Or district in the 18th arrondissement, until reaching Clermont or even Bezon. Football has no limits.

10. This year there will also be a women’s competition

Finally, another good news for this year’s edition, in addition to the 16 men’s teams present, 8 women’s teams will also be selected. In short, you’ll know what to watch on July 2, there’s more debate there.