Saturday saw Aberdeen Sports Village come alive once again for the 8th edition of The Katoni Cup, the 5 a side futsal tournament proudly organised by the AFC Youth Academy.

Thanks to the continued support of title sponsors Katoni Engineering, the tournament was able to continue its expanded two day format which debuted last year. With the fun filled, development based Katoni Festival already enjoyed last month by the U12 age group, it was now time for the U13’s to take part in the elite futsal competition.

The Dons once again entered two sides into the tournament, Aberdeen Reds and Aberdeen Dons, accompanied by some of the country’s finest academies, Rangers, Hearts, Hibernian, Dundee, St Mirren and Greenock Morton, cheered on in Katoni Cup tradition from the always enthusiastic Sports Village balcony.

This year's tournament was played in a round-robin style, with every team advancing to the knockout phase to decide their final position. After an exciting morning of action, it was Rangers and Dundee who topped the table, both on 15 points with an identical goal difference. Also on 15 points were the two Aberdeen sides, their strong performances ensuring they made it through to the afternoon's semi-finals.

A hat-trick of wins for both St Mirren and Hibernian left the pair on nine points, meaning they would face off in the 5th/6th place play-off, with Hearts contesting Greenock Morton in the 7th/8th place play-off.

In the play-offs, St Mirren secured 5th place with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Hibs, whilst Hearts ended their tournament in style, finishing 7th with a 10-0 win over Greenock Morton.

In the semi-finals, a frantic futsal fest ended with Aberdeen Dons triumphing 4-1 over Rangers, whilst a Kaima Ezeogu brace helped Aberdeen Reds run out 3-1 winners against defending champions Dundee, ensuring an all red showpiece to crown this year's winner. Rangers subsequently secured 3rd place with a 3-0 win over Dundee.

It was now time for the final, as Aberdeen Reds and Aberdeen Dons met to decide this year's winner. In a high quality affair, it was Aberdeen Reds who came out on top, beating the Dons team 2-1 and crowning themselves winners of the Katoni Cup 2026.

Another successful year of Katoni Cup action was rounded off with our closing ceremony, where the trophy and awards were presented by CEO of Katoni Engineering, James Bream and Marketing and Communications Executive Bailey Yule.

Dundee’s Chris Siganos earned Player of the Tournament, St Mirren shot stopper Max Orr received the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award, and Aberdeen Reds forward Kaima Ezeogu took home the Top Goal scorer award, after netting 12 times.

We’d like to thank all of this year’s teams for making the journey to Aberdeen Sports Village to participate in the Katoni Cup. Each team represented their clubs with good spirit and great football, and we hope they enjoyed the 8th edition of the Katoni Cup.

Thank you to Katoni Engineering for their continued support of the tournament. Their backing ensured another year of success and development for youth football in Scotland.