Total Futbol Executive Director Nadir Moumen was selected to coach at the International Champions Cup (ICC) Futures Tournament December 10-16, 2019, at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The event is a youth version of the acclaimed ICC competition—now in its seventh year—that sees 12 professional club teams from across the globe vie for an off-season trophy each summer as a prelude to their regular seasons.

 

In 2019, for the first time ever, the Futures event expanded to include twelve U15 girls teams: four of the top U15 teams in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) – Concorde Fire Platinum, Heat FC, LAFC Slammers, and PDA Blue plus four ICC All-Star Teams and four international teams from Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City.

 

Moumen was named to the coaching staff of the 17-player ICC East Regional All-Star Team. Each team was selected through a series of open tryouts, where any player in the country was eligible for selection. Moumen’s team fell just short of advancing to the final four stage of the event after losing one game and winning two. Both victories came in white-knuckle PK shootouts at the end of nil-nil games.

 

 “The competition was intense,” said Moumen. “The level of athleticism and skill was impressive and it was an honor and a thrill for me to participate. Being able to see the elite level of the foreign youth players was an eye-opener and helps me better prepare my players for advanced levels of competition.”

 

Womens’ soccer luminaries such as Mia Hamm, Ali Kreger, and Ashlyn Harris were on hand to support the fledgling youth competition.

 

The ICC East Girls U-15 team coached by Nadir Moumen at the 2019 ICC Futures competition. The ICC East team was composed of all-stars selected from an open competition of U.S. youth soccer players from multiple leagues.