The red-and-black youth team has had a fantastic season, and those who follow the Garotos do Ninho closely have already noticed that they have been doing well from the under-13s to the under-20s. The under-17s are no exception. Undefeated champions of the 2018 Generations Adidas Cup in April and leaders of the Carioca Championship, it is now time to turn their attention to the Belo Horizonte Junior Football Cup, which will begin this Tuesday (17). The "Mais Querido" will face Chapecoense in its first challenge in the competition, at the Arena do Jacaré, in Sete Lagoas (MG), at 16:45 pm.

The Taça BH is the second most important youth soccer competition, behind only the São Paulo Junior Soccer Cup, which has been held for almost 50 years. In total, 40 Brazilian teams will compete in the BH Cup, and for coach Phelipe Leal, competing in such a prestigious national competition is already a motivation for the group.

"The Taça BH is one of the most important competitions on the category's calendar, bringing together the country's top teams. I think everyone's motivation is immense, and that alone makes the competitions top-notch."

Organized by the Minas Gerais Football Federation, the Taça BH has been contested since 1989, originally by teams with players up to 20 years old. Since 2015, the championship has been limited to under-17 teams. Flamengo has been a standout performer, having reached the final in 2015 and 2017. Leal wants to capitalize on the team's strong performance this season to repeat its performance of previous years and achieve the ultimate goal of winning another under-17 title this year.

"Anyone who wears the Flamengo jersey will always carry the responsibility of striving for great achievements, and this competition will be no different. We know the quality of our opponents, but we've prepared for the moment. We hope to repeat the performance of recent editions and focus on achieving our goal."

 

Mengão shares group B with América de Teófilo Otoni, Portuguesa (SP) and Chapecoense.

Flamengo and Chapecoense will be broadcast on the SPORTV channel from 16:35 pm.

July 17 - 07:16 PM - Flamengo vs. Chapecoense

19/07 - 15pm - Portuguesa (SP) x Flamengo

21/07 - 17pm - America TO x Flamengo

23/07 - Round of XNUMX

25/07 - Quarterfinals

28/07 - Semifinals

31/07 - Final

 

Forty teams are participating in this year's edition of the Taça BH, divided into 40 groups of four teams each. The competition will be played in two phases. In the first phase, the clubs will play each other within their groups in a single round-robin format, with the top-placed teams in each group and the six best second-placed teams qualifying for the round of 10. In the final phase, which includes the round of XNUMX, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final, the matches will be played in a single match, with the winning team qualifying for the next phase. In any final phase match, in the event of a draw at the end of regulation time, penalties will be taken.