History was made on February 26, 2024 in far away Italy, when promising Nigerian lads from the stable of Remo Stars, the U19 Beyond Limits Academy lived up to their name as they achieved a rare feat of winning the 2024 Italian-dominated Viareggio Cup.
The Remo Stars SC Academy, hailing from Ikenne-Remo, has truly showcased its talent and potential on the international stage.
The Nigerian clubside owned by an Ogun state-born business mogul, Otunba Kunle Soname became the first football outfit in Africa to have won the prestigious tournament since its inception in Italy 75 years ago.
Before Beyond Limits Academy’s heroic feat, only six times had foreign clubs won the tournament.
In the build-up to the finals, the Ikenne-Remo side pummeled Carrarese U18 6-nil in their first group-stage encounter before punishing Serbian FK Crvena Zvezda U19 3-nil.
In the last group stage match, Soname Young Boys survived the Italian side scare, ACF Fiorentina U18 with a hard fight victory of 6-4 to top the group.
In their knockout match on February 20, Beyond Limits Academy beat another Italian side, Avellino U19 3 -1, before proceeding to beat Torino FC U18 2-1 in the quarter-final tussle on February 22.
In the Semi-final match on February 24, Beyond Limits proved its superior power over its Nigerian counterpart, Ojodu City U19 with a 2-1 victory.
Beyond Limits Academy, therefore, shown their prowess yet again! They defeated Centre Nacional Brazzaville U19 with a commanding 2-0 victory, securing the championship title.
This historic win marks the first time a Nigerian team has claimed the Viareggio Cup since its inception in 1949. What makes their victory even more remarkable is that they achieved this feat without conceding a single defeat throughout the entire tournament.
In fact, they won all seven matches they played, scoring a total of 24 goals while only conceding 7 which has been described as an incredible display of skill and dominance on the field by pundits.
