Wales will be kicking off the 2017-2021 Veterans World Cup Tournament build up when the Swansea University International Sports Village hosts the 2017 (055+) tournament on 12^th, 13^th and 14^th May. It is the first time that this world-wide tournament has been held in Wales. 

Another ‘leg’ of the 2017-2021 Veteran World Cup Tournament build is scheduled to take place in Portugal (location tbc) in May 2019 (058+). The Swansea and Portugal tournaments will be part of the build up to the 060+ International Super Veterans 5-a-side Football World Cup in Doha, Qatar in December, 2021.

The Swansea action packed matches will be played on the Top Pitch at the Sports Village, Sketty Lane and will take place between 2.30-5.00pm on Friday 12^th May and between 11am-4.00pm on Saturday 13^th and Sunday 14^th May. There will be Team Penalty Shoot-out Competitions following the matches each day.

The exciting three day event gets the starters whistle to begin on Friday 12^th May with the 065+ International Exhibition Games of Competitive 5-a-side Walking Football tournament between six teams from England, Scotland, Canada/Tri-nations and Wales (3 teams).  

Running swiftly behind the 065+’s will be the Invitational 055+ tournament on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14^th May. Ten teams from North America, Europe and the United Kingdom, plus the winners from the 2006 -2016 veterans world cup tournaments and host nation veterans teams will battle it out for the winner’s trophy. 15 teams in total will compete from as far away as Canada, Qatar and Turkey.

In addition the Sports Pavilion will host Poster Displays on “Veterans Football: Health and Sport Science” (12- 14^th May) and there will be Guest Speaker Football Presentations* (13^th – 14^th May). The Team Awards will also be presented in the Sports Pavilion at  5pm on Friday 12^th May (065+) and 4.30pm on Sunday 14^th May (055+).

Entry is free. Refreshments are available to be purchased. 

Background

*The Guest Speakers will be:

• Saturday 13^th May - Prof. Ruben Goebel, Director of Sports Science, Qatar University who will speak about “2021 Tournament: 060+ International Super Veterans 5-a-side World Cup Football Tournament”  and Prof. John Sugden, University of Brighton who will speak about; “Football, Corruption & Lies: Revisiting Badfellas – FIFA”.
  
  
• Sunday 14^th May – John Lambert, Principal Lecturer in Sport Coaching and Physical Education at the School of Sport and Service Management, University of Brighton who will speak about: “Performance Analysis: Scouting Experiences in the English Premier League.”

The International Super Veterans 5-a-side/ Futsal World Cup Football Tournament began in 2006. It is limited to 10-12 representative teams of age-specific players whom are selected from any club, community, institutional group or football association. Participating representative teams to date include countries from: Canada, England, Spain (FC Barcelona), Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Holland, Ireland, Morocco, Switzerland, Turkey, USA, Wales, Scotland, Finland, and United Nations.

Previous tournaments have been held in:

• 1st International Veterans 5-a-side/Futsal World Cup Football Tournament (040) was held at the Chelsea School, England, 2006.
• The 2nd International Veterans 5-a-side/Futsal World Cup Football Tournament (045) was held in Filzbach, Switzerland, 2008.
• The 3rd International Veterans 5-a-side/Futsal World Cup Football Tournament (045) was held at Aston University, Birmingham, England, 2010. 
• The 4th International Veterans 5-a-side/Futsal World Cup Football Tournament (050) was held in Antalya, Turkey, 2011. 
• The 5th International Veterans World Cup Football Tournament (050) was held in Barcelona, Spain, 2013. 
• The 6th International Veterans World Cup Football Tournament (050) was held in Verona, Italy, 2014. 
• The 7th International Veterans World Cup Football Tournament (050) was held in Real Sociedad, Spain, 2015. 
• The 8th International Veterans World Cup Football Tournament (050) was held in Algarve, Portugal, 2016

The 2006-2016 Veterans 5-a-side World Cup Winners include:

• England Amateurs (England), 2014, 2016 winners
• Istanbul University Masters (Turkey), 2011, 2015 winners
• FC Barcelona (Spain), 2012 winner
• FC Berlin Masters (Germany), 2010 winner
• Inter UBC Masters (Canada), 2006, 2008 winners

Click here for the 2006-2016 results history of the International Veterans 5-a-side World Cup Football Tournaments

For more information go to the International Tournament Website;
http://faculty.educ.ubc.ca/hubball/worldcup16/index.html

For more information about the facilities at the Swansea University International Sports Village, Sketty Lane go to; https://www.swansea.ac.uk/sport/sports-facilities/international-sports-village/