The Katoni Cup was top of the agenda for the Aberdeen Youth Academy this weekend as the much-loved futsal tournament rolled back into town for its seventh edition at the Aberdeen Sports Village.

Made possible by the support of Katoni Engineering, the action was expanded into a two-day format for the first time – the traditional cup taking place on the Saturday – an U13, 5 a side futsal tournament, alongside the Katoni Festival on the Sunday, made up of U12 teams who competed in fun matches to give them a taste of the Katoni Cup experience.

Competing on the Saturday were Hearts, Hibernian, Ross County, St Johnstone, St Mirren, Elgin City, West End FC, and two Aberdeen sides – Aberdeen Reds, and Aberdeen Dons. There were late changes to proceedings due to Storm Eowyn affecting travel plans for Celtic, Rangers, and Hamilton, with Elgin City and West End FC stepping up in the eleventh hour to complete the line-up. Thank you to both teams for taking part in the tournament.

Aberdeen FC Youth Academy Director Stuart Glennie was pleased with the weekend:

“This year we have tried to make things a bit bigger and a bit better. It is a great event, with a great atmosphere, and a great environment for the boys competing. It is made possible by Katoni and the support they give us, it is an important partnership we have with them, and we are very grateful for their continued support.

“I also want to give a special mention to the teams who stepped in at the last minute to make sure we could go ahead as planned with the Katoni Cup on the Saturday.”

The Saturday was made up of two groups, with the top two teams progressing to the knockout phase. In group A, Dundee topped the tree on goal difference, with AFC Reds narrowly missing out on top spot. Over in group B, it was AFC Dons who led the pack, Hearts a point behind in second. Boys club West End more than held their own in Group B alongside some of the countries strongest academies, finishing with two wins from four.

In the knockout stage, Dundee edged past Hearts 6-4 to book their spot in the final. On the other side of proceedings, it was AFC v AFC, the tie going all the way to penalties. It was the Dons who just about were able to advance in the end, winning the shootout eventually after it headed to sudden death.

Unfortunately for Aberdeen, it was Dundee who would get their hands on the coveted trophy, they won the final 3-1 to seal their first-ever Katoni Cup victory. Congratulations to Dundee on an impressive showing throughout the day, Hamish Anderson grabbing a brace in the final. Franklin Frimpong Owusu of Dundee was the top goal scorer on the day, Aberdeen FC Dons’ Gavi Osula awarded player of the tournament.

On the Sunday, the festival had more of a relaxed feel to proceedings, with some great football on display in an environment that was enhanced by the always loud and colourful support up on the ASV balcony, a feature of both days.

CEO of Katoni James Bream was delighted to extend the festivities for 2025:

“Katoni Cup time is always a great time for us as a business. We enjoy coming here, and it’s great coverage for us, and it’s a fun day too. This year, we’ve got more teams. We’ve got some local teams, and they got a great chance to show off their skills.

“It’s a community tournament, and it’s also elite, so there’s a competition element to it. We get to see some of the best young talent from all around Scotland coming to Aberdeen.
“We are proud to be from Aberdeen, so having a tournament here really means a lot to us. Aberdeen is our HQ. We’ve got businesses in Mexico, Holland, and we are going into West Africa, but this is our home, and, this is our team, and we’re proud of that.”