Viareggio Cup: Nigeria’s Beyond Limits Academy stuns Congo’s C.N Brazzaville to become first African winners

Beyond Limits Football Academy have won the Nigeria Professional Football Youth League twice and the Creative Championships three times.

The youth team of the Remo Stars football club, Beyond Limits Academy, put two goals past Congo’s C.N Brazzaville to become the first African team to win the Viareggio Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Ikenne-based team defeated a host of football teams including Carrarese, Fiorentina’s Acadamy, Avellino, Torino’s Academy, and Ojody City F.C. from Nigeria to get to the final of the 2024 Viareggio Cup.

The game looked somewhat cagey in the first five minutes, but things began to open up as time went on, with Beyond Limits pressuring the Congolese team.

The Nigerian team took the lead after eighteen minutes in what was the first-ever all-African team Viareggio Cup final in Italy. Ganiyu Adiyo’s well-timed pass found Isaac Chukwudi on the edge of Brazzaville’s box and the teenager crossed the ball for Kparobo Arierhi to slot the ball calmly beyond the opposition goalkeeper.

The second goal came in the 26th minute with Beyond Limits profiting from the overlapping right back, Oluwaseyi Ogunniyi. His dangerous cross could not be dealt with by the Brazzaville defence as they put the ball into their own goal, putting the Ikenne faithful two goals up.

They pushed further in search of more goals, but the C.N. Brazzaville defence made sure they didn’t get a third-time lucky to keep the scoreline noble.

We have competed, we have conquered, we are…………………C H A M P I O N S 💫

All the way from Ikenne to Italy 🥳 Our boys are the winners of the 74th Viareggio Cup 🎉#BLFAxViareggio | #NoLimits pic.twitter.com/5xVIjtq17j

— Beyond Limits FA (@Beyond_LimitsFA) February 26, 2024

A.C. Milan and Juventus are the record champions of the Viareggio Cup, winning it nine times, and with Beyond Limits putting their name in history as the first African team to win the competition, it is a great testament to the talent being groomed in the club located at the South Western part of Nigeria.