Albion Cup Spain

The Albion Cup Spain is Europe’s newest elite football tournament.

It sees the participation of only professional clubs and academies competing in what is announced to be one of the leading youth football events not just in Europe, but the World.

Taking place in the Basque Region of Spain, in the city of San Sebastian, it will see the participation of academies the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Deportivo Alaves, Osasuna and many more, as well as elite clubs from North America.

There is no tournament in the USA or Europe with this level of competition in every match.

Arrival and departures dates: 19/08/2022 – 24/08/2023

The Albion Cup Spain is an elite tournament (read more about our tournament types). 

By attending this tournament, included in the participation fee, you’ll receive:

– Accommodation for the entire tournament in Residence-style lodging;
– Full board across the week;
– Transport to and from games;
– Referee Abroad merchandise;
– Games with assistants and fourth officials, and possibility of using communication headsets;
– Finals in stadiums / possibility of appearing on live TV;
– A fantastic week of refereeing, friends, and fun!

Accommodation will be offered in a residence-style accommodation in single rooms.

More details on the exact accommodation offered will be available in due course.

San Sebastian, Spain. It’s said that nothing is impossible. This is wrong. It’s impossible to lay eyes on San Sebastián (Basque: Donostia) and not fall madly in love. This stunning city is everything that grimy Bilbao is not: cool, svelte and flirtatious by night, charming and well mannered by day. Best of all is the summer fun on the beach. For it’s setting, form and attitude, Playa de la Concha is the equal of any city beach in Europe. Then there’s Playa de Gros (also known as Playa de la Zurriola), with its surfers and sultry beach goers. As the sun falls on another sweltering summer’s day, you’ll sit back with a drink and an artistic pintxo and realise that, yes, you too are in love with sexy San Sebastián.

San Sebastián has three main centres of action. The lively Parte Vieja (old town) lies across the neck of Monte Urgull, the bay’s eastern headland, and is where the most popular pintxo bars and many of the cheap lodgings are to be found. South of the Parte Vieja is the commercial and shopping district, the Centro Romántico, whose handsome grid of late-19th-century buildings extends from behind Playa de la Concha to the banks of Río Urumea. On the east side of the river is the district of Gros, a pleasant enclave that, with its relaxed ambience and the surfing beach of Playa de Gros, makes a cheerful alternative to the honeypots on the west side of the river.

The closest international airport to San Sebastian is Bilbao Airport (BIO), approximately one hour away and with good bus connections by the local company PESA (€17.00). Bilbao is Northern Spain’s busiest airport and, while still relatively small, is well served by many of Europe’s main airlines, both low-cost and not. The likes of Easyjet, Vueling, Iberia, Air Europa, British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa and many others connect the airport with their hubs more than once during the day.

San Sebastian is also served by two other airports. The city’s own is San Sebastian Airport (EAS) and is a small airport located approximately 20 km from the city centre, close to the border with France. It is only served by national flights from Madrid and Barcelona operated by Iberia and Vueling.

Another option, especially for those flying from France or the UK, is the French airport of Biarritz (BIQ), 50km away with bus and train connections to San Sebastian. Air France, British Airways and Ryanair serve this small airport.

San Sebastian is also well connected to the rest of Spain by bus and train so, should it be more convenient for you, you could also opt to fly into another of Spain’s main airport and continue your trip by land.

Referees will be offered pick-up from either Bilbao or Biarritz airports, if their arrival time is compatible with the tournament bus’s schedule.