Salou, Youth Football Capital at Easter

There are weeks when Salou transforms. During Easter, our city stops being merely a sun-and-beach destination and becomes the international capital of youth football, a meeting point where thousands of families from around the world share their passion for the sport and the pleasure of a holiday beside the Mediterranean.

The tournaments: three international fixtures at Easter

Three major tournaments coincide in the Costa Dorada during these days, turning our sports facilities into a whirlwind of coloured shirts, languages intermingling and that contagious energy that only youth football can generate.

El Mundialito, celebrating its 31st edition from 28 March to 5 April, is perhaps the most emblematic. More than 150,000 players have passed through its pitches over three decades, arriving from five continents and nearly one hundred countries. It is what its organisers call the "Cuna de Estrellas" — the Cradle of Stars: Jordi Alba came here as a child with FC Barcelona, as did Leandro Paredes with Boca Juniors, Ansu Fati, Fede Valverde and Kun Agüero when they were young and dreaming of the ball. According to tournament records, 35% of the footballers who participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup played in the Mundialito. Almost nine days of football, fair play and togetherness that transform the traditional Easter week into a unique experience for families.

The Costa Daurada Cup, based at the Mediterranean Sports Hub — one of the best sports centres in southern Europe, with eleven full-size pitches approved by UEFA and FIFA — brings together from 29 March to 2 April clubs from Spain, England, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Japan and Mexico, among others. Names such as Málaga CF, AS Cannes, Excelsior Rotterdam and JFA Imabari will share the pitch with local academies and training projects from across the world. It is diversity made tournament: different styles of play, distinct training methodologies, football cultures that meet and enrich one another.

The Copa Daurada completes the calendar with its Easter edition from 6 to 10 April, bringing together more than seventy teams at state-of-the-art sports facilities, with both men's and women's categories in full-size and seven-a-side formats.

For families: beyond the pitch

But beyond the matches, these tournaments are also an experience for the families accompanying young players. While the children compete, parents discover a Costa Dorada that offers fine sandy beaches, a promenade that invites walking, the excitement of PortAventura and, above all, a gastronomy that knows how to welcome.

Salou is designed for families. The promenade between Llevant beach and Cap de Salou is one of the most pleasant on the Costa Dorada: car-free, with terraces at the water's edge and a Mediterranean horizon that invites you to linger. Twenty minutes away is Tarragona with its Roman amphitheatre and UNESCO World Heritage old town. In the nearby interior, the villages of the Priorat wine route — Falset, Gratallops, Cornudella — offer a half-day excursion combining Mediterranean mountain scenery and wine culture.

Carbònic: the meeting point after the match

At Carbònic we understand what a tournament week means. We know that after hours in the sun cheering, early mornings to make the first game, living through the tension of penalties, what a family needs is to sit at a table where time stands still. Our grill kitchen, our wine list designed for sharing, the atmosphere of our space are all made for those moments when parents can finally relax while the children replay the day's key moments.

For groups of families — those spontaneous end-of-day dinners where parents from several teams come together — we have the space and flexibility. Write to us a few days in advance and we'll organise the table.

Salou has been welcoming families from around the world for decades. Each Easter, those families return — many come back year after year — because they know that here they will find not only first-class football pitches, but also the hospitality of a land that understands sports tourism as something more than a competition: a way of creating memories that last a lifetime.

We look forward to welcoming you at Carbònic.