This year’s Ekstra Class Academy tournament is the eighth edition of this project – the organiser of the event is the Ekstraklasa Foundation, and the project itself is financed by Ekstraklasa and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. The tournament takes place from 9 May to 29 May at the facilities of 18 Ekstraklasa clubs. Last year’s edition of the Ekstra Class Academy brought together a total of 2,500 children from over 100 clubs, invited by the clubs. The main objective of the project is to promote sport among children and young people, shape an active lifestyle and encourage the development of football skills.

All clubs invite their befriended academies from neighbouring towns or partner centres to play together. The oldest participants in the Ekstra Class Academy are players born in 2012, who play matches against each other in a tournament format. The matches take place on a 60×40 m playing field with 5×2 m goals – a team can have up to 7 players on the pitch (6+1 goalkeeper). The tournament is usually played by 8 teams divided into two groups, playing matches “every man for himself”. The players finish the tournament by playing matches against the team that is placed in the second group.

In turn, players up to the age of nine can enjoy playing football by taking part in the Funino tournament. In line with this methodology, the aim of the game is above all to encourage sportsmanship, develop football skills and encourage the creativity needed both on the pitch and in everyday life. During such matches, there are three players per team on the pitch and the players try to score a point by placing the ball in one of the two goals. Most importantly, there are no referees in this tournament and no score tables are kept. Pre-school children are also invited to participate in the fun, and they can spend an active time on the prepared obstacle courses or during animation games. The whole event is in fact a sporting family picnic, frequented not only by the competitors, but also their parents or guardians. The event will be hosted by Dariusz Ślęzak (DJ Ucho), who as a DJ and announcer has hosted many popular sports events. The best possible warm-up will be taken care of by Kacper Lachowicz (Kacpa), basketball coach – he has been co-leading Marcin GortatCamp since 2010.

Each of the players taking part in the Ekstra Class Academies project can look forward to a number of gifts. Above all, all young athletes receive their prizes for taking part in the tournament from their coaches and invited guests on a grand stage in a festive setting. All participants receive a commemorative diploma, in addition to which the youngest athletes can enjoy a medal. Their older counterparts, meanwhile, win a cup for their participation in the U11 tournament.

This year’s edition of the Ekstra Class Academy will be organised in cooperation with FKS Stal Mielec S.A. on Wednesday 24 May at the MOSiR pitches on Sportowa Street. The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00 when the opening ceremony will take place, guaranteeing plenty of activities and games. The organisers invite the youngest from all over Mielec to participate.