Coerver Summer Cup finals to kick off

Torquay’s Banyul Warri Fields will come alive next Friday, with the finals of the Summer Coerver Cup are set to take place.

Run by local soccer academy Coerver, the junior tournament has been running on Friday nights and features 96 teams, over 700 kids and 48 matches per week.

Now in its second year, the Cup includes teams from nine clubs around the region and is supported by its partner club, Surf Coast FC, and El Nido Cafe.

Coerver director Adrian Leijer said the tournament has grown in 2025 thanks to an additional timeslot, allowing 16 more teams to compete.

“This year we had an increase in players, which is what we wanted to do,” he said.

“We’ve had a few challenging nights with the weather, it hasn’t been perfect Summer Cup weather, but it’s been great to see all the kids out there playing every Friday night and continuing their development.”

When organising the competition, Leijer wanted to ensure the Friday nights were worthwhile for both the children and parents.

“My vision around the tournament was to make it enjoyable for the parents as well as the kids,” he said.

“We have the food trucks with support from Surf Coast FC and we put live music on, so it’s just a fantastic atmosphere.

“If we had a little bit warmer weather, it would’ve been nicer, but I can’t complain too much.”

Leijer said the Cup extends his mantra at Coerver, which aims to help young soccer players develop their game and have fun in the process.

“The focus of the Coerver Cup is all about development,” he said.

“We do five per side because it’s what we believe in and what we do as Coerver. It’s a really good way for the kids to develop their skills.

“Fundamentally, that’s why it was designed – development and fun. But as we know both kids and parents are passionate and like to win, so next week will be a lot of fun.

“The kids will get their trophies and medals, and I think it’ll be a pretty hotly contested night.”

The tournament features age groups from under-7s to under-15s, with matches kicking off at 4.15pm.