ANB Academy Futbol invited to "Challenge Jean Pingeon" for 3rd consecutive year

February 14, 2012 (RELEASE) -- ANB Academy Futbol has once again been invited to participate in the prestigious "Challenge Jean Pingeon" tournament hosted by SM Caen in Normandy, France, taking place on 12 & 13 May, 2012. The team will compete in the U-13 age division. The thirteen players (1999 born) representing ANB Academy Futbol will travel to the formation centre of SM Caen (Ligue 1 - France) before the tournament and spend one week training on the club's grounds, watch the Senior club train and hopefully attend a professional Ligue 1 match.

In 2012, "Challenge Jean Pingeon" will be in its 12th year, and in the weekend tournament, ANB Academy Futbol athletes will be competing against professional clubs such as SM Caen, PSG, AJ Auxerre, AS Nancy, and Le Havre, among others. The tournament is a rigorous 2 day event, with teams playing a series of 12 min. games in a 9 vs. 9 format, the normal formation for French youth teams at this age. Last year, ANB Academy Futbol finished 9th out of 32 teams and displayed a level of football which showed Canadian athletes can compete with the best of the French youth system, if provided with proper training. Last year's winner, SC Bastia, beat SM Caen in the final on penalty shots.

Head Coach and Academy Director, Bassam Naim expects nothing less than a repeat of last year's performance saying, "We know the quality of the teams in the tournament, we understand the speed of play is very high and we have been preparing our players for the competition since we resumed training in early January. Due to our play last year, we have a target on our back and I expect the team to rise to the occasion. Additionally, we are very grateful to SM Caen for the opportunity to participate in the tournament once again." ANB Academy has made preliminary player selections for the team entering the tournament however, space on the team will be made for any player who demonstrates superior soccer attributes and can assist the team in its performance.

Tournament qualification rounds are still being held in France, and the groups will not be published until the club entries have been finalized. Further information on the tournament can be found on the SM Caen website, http://www.smcaen.fr/la-formation/ecole-de-football/jean-pingeon.

For more information on the programs offered by ANB Academy, check out our website www.anbfutbol.com, contact us by telephone at 905-313-8661 or via e-mail at bassam@anbfutbol.com

ANB academy's vision is to become Canada's leading soccer development organization. Its mission is to identify Canadian soccer talent, and to maximize the potential of players at any level, through professional coaching and training.