Kevin De Bruyne Cup
 The tournament logo | |
| Organiser(s) | KVE Drongen |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Region | Europe |
| Teams | 12 |
| Current champions |  Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1st title) |
| Most championships |  Barcelona (4 titles) |
| Website | kdbcup.be/en |
The Kevin De Bruyne Cup, abbreviated KDB Cup, is an international Belgian football tournament for players under the age of 15, which has existed since 2016.[1] The tournament takes place annually at the end of May or beginning of June on the grounds of KVE Drongen in Drongen near Ghent. Professional footballer Kevin De Bruyne gave his name to the tournament and is involved in the organization, which is entirely in the hands of volunteers.[2]
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History
[edit]Kevin De Bruyne grew up in Drongen. He went to school there and was affiliated to KVV Drongen until 1999, at that time one of the three Drongen football clubs. In 1999, he swapped the club for KAA Gent after which a highly successful career would follow. His parents and sister continued to live in Drongen.[3]
In 2014, it was decided to get Kevin De Bruyne and his family back involved with the club, and to organize an international youth tournament. On 27 August 2015, the NPO KDB was established. This loose NPO would organize the first edition in close cooperation with KVE Drongen in 2016.[4]
The tournament is initially designed as a competition for youth and features academy players who often move on to become senior professionals.[5] Some of the players who have made it into the senior club teams RSC Anderlecht or won awards at the tournament include Jamal Musiala, Gonçalo Ramos, FC Barcelona, Úmaro Embaló (best player in 2016), Moriba Kourouma (best player in 2017), and Jérémy Doku (top scorer in 2017).[6]
The event attracts up to 15,000 visitors.[7]
Records and statistics
[edit]Finals
[edit]| Edition | Year | Winner | Runner-up | Third | Fourth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 |  SL Benfica |
 Austria Wien |
 Club Brugge KV |
FC Barcelona |
[8] |
| 2 | 2017 | FC Barcelona |
RSC Anderlecht |
KRC Genk |
 Chelsea FC |
[9] |
| 3 | 2018 | RSC Anderlecht |
 AZ Alkmaar |
 Odense BK |
Manchester City FC |
[10] |
| 4 | 2019 | Chelsea FC |
Racing Genk |
Feyenoord Rotterdam |
PSV Eindhoven |
[11] |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | [12] | ||||
| 2021 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | [13] | ||||
| 5 | 2022 | FC Barcelona |
Real Madrid CF |
KRC Genk |
Manchester City FC |
[14] |
| 6 | 2023 | FC Barcelona |
 Paris Saint-Germain FC |
 SE Palmeiras |
Club Brugge KV |
[15] |
| 7 | 2024 | Manchester City FC |
KAA Gent |
SE Palmeiras |
KRC Genk |
[16] |
| 8 | 2025 | FC Barcelona |
Club Brugge KV |
Paris Saint-Germain |
Chelsea FC |
[17] |
| 9 | 2026 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen |
Paris Saint-Germain |
Club Brugge KV |
RSC Anderlecht |
[18] |
Other team and individual trophies
[edit]
Participation statistics (as of 2026)
[edit]| Team | Total times participated |
Last time participated |
Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gent |
9 | 2026 | Runners-up (2024) |
| Club Brugge |
9 | 2026 | Runners-up (2025) |
| Genk |
8 | 2026 | Runners-up (2019) |
| Barcelona |
7 | 2025 | Winners (2017, 2022, 2023, 2025) |
| Anderlecht |
7 | 2026 | Winners (2018) |
| Chelsea |
7 | 2026 | Winners (2019) |
| Paris Saint-Germain |
7 | 2026 | Runners-up (2023, 2026) |
| Manchester City |
6 | 2025 | Winners (2024) |
| Odense BK |
5 | 2023 | Third place (2018) |
| PSV Eindhoven |
4 | 2026 | Fourth place (2019) |
| Ajax |
3 | 2026 | Sixth place (2022, 2023) |
| AZ |
3 | 2018 | Runners-up (2018) |
| Bayer 04 Leverkusen |
3 | 2026 | Winners (2026) |
| Bayern Munich |
3 | 2025 | Fifth place (2025) |
| Borussia Dortmund |
3 | 2026 | Eighth place (2018) |
| Benfica |
2 | 2017 | Winners (2016) |
| Leipzig |
2 | 2024 | Seventh place (2024) |
| Lille |
2 | 2025 | Eighth place (2022) |
| Manchester United |
2 | 2026 | Eighth place (2024) |
| Palmeiras |
2 | 2024 | Third place (2023, 2024) |
| Real Madrid |
2 | 2023 | Runners-up (2022) |
| Arsenal |
1 | 2017 | Seventh place (2017) |
| Austria Wien |
1 | 2016 | Runners-up (2016) |
 Beşiktaş |
1 | 2018 | Sixth place (2018) |
| Everton |
1 | 2016 | Eleventh place (2016) |
| Feyenoord |
1 | 2019 | Third place (2019) |
 Mamelodi Sundowns |
1 | 2023 | Eighth place (2023) |
| Marseille |
1 | 2017 | Eighth place (2017) |
 Rangers |
1 | 2024 | Ninth place (2024) |
| Sporting CP |
1 | 2026 | Sixth place (2026) |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
1 | 2016 | Twelfth place (2016) |
| Wolfsburg |
1 | 2016 | Ninth place (2016) |
 Zenit Saint Petersburg |
1 | 2018 | Fifth place (2018) |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Alles wat je moet weten over de KDB Cup 2023: wanneer, welke ploegen doen mee en eerdere winnaars". voetbalflitsen.be (in Dutch). 31 March 2023.
- ↑ "KDB Cup". kdbcup.be (in Dutch). 20 October 2022.
- ↑ "Kevin De Bruyne Cup in Drongen live te volgen op YouTube in 110 landen: speciale camera volgt automatisch de bal". VRT (in Dutch). 17 May 2024.
- ↑ "VZW KDB Cup". bizzy.ai (in Dutch). 21 May 2024.
- ↑ "De KDB Cup blijkt een kweekvijver van WK-toppers: "Kippenvel, telkens één van 'onze' spelers scoort"". hbvl.be (in Dutch). 9 December 2022.
- ↑ "Een kweekvijver voor toptalent: deze grote namen stonden ooit op de KDB Cup". Sporza (in Dutch). 8 June 2023.
- ↑ "Kevin De Bruyne komt titel vieren in Drongen: "We mikken op 1O.000 bezoekers"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 25 May 2022.
- ↑ "2016 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2017 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2018 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2019 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2020 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2021 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2022 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2023 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ↑ "2024 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ↑ "2025 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "2026 KDB Cup". KDB Cup. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in English and Dutch)