WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.- Leading global food company Danone revealed the 33 diverse nations that will be represented in this year’s Danone Nations Cup World Final in September. Each year, the Danone Nations Cup brings together millions of children aged 10 to 12 from around the globe to compete in the world’s largest youth soccer tournament for this age range. This year is no exception, as the competition makes its U.S. debut. The 2017 tournament will welcome nearly 500 young players to the field at New Jersey’s Red Bull Arena, home to Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls, giving fans in and around the tri-state area the chance to attend, watch the action and cheer on their favorite countries.
Throughout the past year, 2.5 million players from more than 34,000 schools and 11,000 clubs worldwide played a series of local, regional and national Danone Nations Cup competitions, vying for the chance to represent their country on World Final Day. The 32 countries competing in this year’s boys’ tournament represent all corners of the world: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sénégal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay, the UAE and the United States.
2017’s World Final also marks the inaugural girls’ tournament, giving girls aged 10-12 the opportunity to play against other internationally recognized teams as Danone crowns the first ever girls’ World Final Champion. The six countries competing in this inaugural girls’ tournament are: Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Spain and the United States.
“Every year, the World Final brings together children from diverse backgrounds for a day of competition and friendship that will undoubtedly shape their lives for years to come. We’re thrilled that this year we’ll continue that tradition in the United States,” said Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone. “For the first time, the 2017 tournament will welcome both a boys and girls team from five countries and we’re expecting our most spirited competition yet – one that builds on the tournament values of fun, comradery, teamwork, tolerance and respect.”
Last year, Germany took home the World Final championship in a tough matchup against the team from Japan. They’ll be back again this year to defend their title against 31 other boys’ teams who will travel to the United States for their chance to be crowned 2017 World Final Champions.
For more information about the 2017 Danone Nations Cup, please visit: www.danonenationscup.com/, and make sure to follow the action on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or join in on the fun with #DNC2017.
About Danone (www.danone.com)
Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is a leading global food company built on four business lines: Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Early Life Nutrition, Waters and Medical Nutrition. Through its mission and dual commitment to business success and social progress, the company aims to build a healthier future, thanks to better health, better lives and a better world, for all its stakeholders—its more than 100,000 employees, consumers, customers, suppliers, shareholders and all the communities with which it engages. With our products being present in over 130 markets, Danone generated sales of approximately €22 billion in 2016. Danone’s brand portfolio includes both international brands (Activia, Actimel, Alpro, Danette, Danonino, Danio, evian, Volvic, Nutrilon/Aptamil, Nutricia) and local brands (Aqua, Blédina, Cow & Gate, Bonafont, Horizon Organic, Mizone, Oikos, Prostokvashino, Silk, Vega). Listed on Euronext Paris and on the OTCQX market via an ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program, Danone is a component stock of leading social responsibility indexes including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Vigeo, the Ethibel Sustainability Index, MSCI Global Sustainability, MSCI Global SRI Indexes and the FTSE4Good Index.
Source: Danone