Global Information2010 Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament information
 | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (January 2011) |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Teams | 6 (Elite) 24 (Premier) 24 (Juniors) |
| Defending champions | Northern Ireland (Elite) Manchester United (Premier) Everton (Junior) |
The 2010 Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament was the 2010 edition of a prestigious youth association football tournament that has been running annually since 1983. Teams from around the world competed in a week-long tournament in the North Coast area of Northern Ireland. The teams were divided into three categories: Elite, Premier, and Junior for Under-19s, Under-17s and Under-15s respectively. The 2010 Milk Cup Tournament ran between the 26 and 30 July 2010, with Northern Ireland (Elite), Manchester United (Premier) and Everton (Junior) all returning to defend their 2009 titles.
The Elite section had six teams in 2010, with each team playing two group matches. The top two teams in the table after the group stage competed in the final. Group matches were played on Monday and Wednesday, with the final and play-offs for positions taking part on the final day, Friday.
The Junior and Premier sections were contested by 24 teams. Each team played once on Monday and Tuesday as part of a league, from which the top 8 teams qualified for the Milk Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. The remainder of the teams qualified for lower-level cups that ran alongside the Milk Cup, with quarter-finals on the Wednesday, semi-finals on Thursday, and the finals on Friday. In 2010, for the first time the finals night were held at the Ballymena Showgrounds, rather than the traditional venue of the Coleraine Showgrounds. There were a number of new teams competing this year, from Venezuela, Spain, Norway, China, Belgium and Israel amongst others.
- Elite – Under 19s – national sides
- Premier – Under 17s – club sides and national sides
- Junior – Under 15s – club sides and national sides
Clubs and national teams from anywhere in the world may compete on invitation, and in 2010 five continents were represented - Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia.