Como’s Academy Stakes Its Claim on the Future of Italian Football

Como 1907’s academy will step onto one of the biggest youth stages this season as the club competes in the Mundial de Clubes Sub 18 also known as the Trofeo Al Andalus. It is more than an international tournament. It is a proving ground for tomorrow’s stars. For Como it is the perfect stage to show the fruits of its investment in youth and to underline a clear ambition. The goal is to develop players who can thrive at the highest levels of Italian football and eventually wear the Azzurri shirt.

This is not a short term experiment. Como’s academy has been reshaped with a long term philosophy at its core building a structure that combines top Italian prospects with carefully chosen international recruits. It is a system designed to prepare players for two pathways. First they must aim to graduate into Como’s first team. Second they can elevate the national talent pool strengthening Italy’s future.

The Mundial de Clubes Sub 18 marks the return of this prestigious tournament first held in 2005 and paused during the pandemic. The 2025 edition will bring together twelve elite youth academies from Europe, South America and Africa in a ten day spectacle running from September 1 to September 10 in Córdoba Spain.

Como 1907 is the only Italian side in the field joining giants such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Betis and Córdoba from Spain, Benfica from Portugal, Palmeiras and Corinthians from Brazil, River Plate and Racing Club from Argentina and AS Nylon from Cameroon. The tournament format features four groups of three teams each with the top eight progressing to the knockout rounds from quarterfinals to the final.

Como will compete in a group of high calibre alongside River Plate Barcelona and Benfica. The opening matches take place across the province on venues in Lucena Montilla Cabra Palma del Río Pozoblanco and Puente Genil while the decisive stages including semifinals and the final will return to the historic Estadio El Arcángel in Córdoba.

Among those who could play in the tournament are names that already carry weight in Italian youth football. Striker Samuele Pisati, a standout from Milan’s U17s embodies the attacking instincts that Como wants to nurture. Midfielder Lorenzo Bonsignori arrives from Atalanta with national team credentials and Youth League experience already seen as one of the most exciting Italian talents of his generation. Thomas Boccia prolific and versatile has been nicknamed “il baby bomber” a player whose nose for goal promises to light up the competition.

Alongside them stand international arrivals who add fresh perspectives and different qualities. Brazilian goalkeeper Henrique Lopes Menke brings South American champion pedigree while Adam Asfour, Lyfe Oldenstam, Miguel João da Silva and Diego Martínez highlight Como’s widening network of young recruits. Each of them is part of a carefully considered plan to raise the overall level of the academy by mixing Italian core strength with international flair.

Head of Development Osian Roberts explained that the aim is to increase the quantity and quality of homegrown players who will hopefully go on to represent Como’s first team and for Italian players the national side too. This tournament offers the perfect chance to measure that ambition against some of the strongest academies in the world.

For Como 1907 this tournament is not just about results on the pitch. It is about showing the wider football world that Lake Como is now home to one of Italy’s most forward thinking academies. It is about building belief that the next generation of Italian talent can be found here ready to rise ready to inspire and ready to carry the Azzurri forward.