Orange Cup 2026 Mobilizes 2,300 Youth Players Across Reunion Island Football Network

Orange Cup 2026 kicked off August 22 at Mille Roches in Saint-André, deploying nearly 2,300 young athletes across Reunion Island's amateur football infrastructure in what organizers have positioned as a dual-track event combining competitive play with structured educational programming. The launch triggered simultaneous pool-play phases across multiple island sectors, with morning sessions running from 8:30 to 11:30 and a competition cycle scheduled through late November. The enrollment figures underscore the event's operational scale. Close to 189 teams registered in the U10 and U11 age categories, representing approximately 2,268 licensed young players entering a tournament cycle that will unfold across the island's sectoral club networks. Since the Orange Cup's inception in 2022, the event has established itself as a fixture in Reunion's youth football calendar, and this year's participation levels reflect that institutional positioning. Orange Reunion Mayotte structured the 2026 edition around a partnership model pairing the Ligue Réunionnaise de Football with airline partner French bee. The operational framework integrates matches with workshops aligned to the French Football Federation's Educational Federal Program, which Orange supports. These workshops address digital literacy, screen time management, and cyberbullying prevention, threading educational content through a competition otherwise organized around respect, fair play, solidarity, and civic responsibility. André Martin, General Director of Orange Reunion Mayotte, articulated the competition's rationale plainly. "The Orange Cup grows from a simple conviction: football can be a remarkable learning ground for young people," Martin stated. "We are building a competition that pairs their passion for sport with awareness of responsible digital use. Seeing nearly 2,300 children commit this year illustrates the momentum created around this event on Reunion Island." The LRF carries central operational responsibility for deploying the tournament across the island's sectors. Its territorial relationships with local clubs and experience managing young licensed players form the backbone enabling delivery at this scale. Rosaire Moriscot, President of the LRF, framed the federation's role directly. "The Ligue Réunionnaise de Football is proud to organize and support a new Orange Cup edition, an anticipated event for our island's young footballers," Moriscot said. "Thanks to all partners, nearly 2,300 young Reunionese will this year have the opportunity to experience enriching sports and educational engagement. This action perfectly illustrates our common aim: making football a genuine lever for development and learning for Reunionese youth." The competition divides into four distinct phases. Pool play runs from August 22 through October 17, distributed across different island sectors. Sectoral finals follow from October 31 to November 14. The regional final, scheduled for Saturday, November 28, 2026, determines the champion team and triggers the prize offered through French bee. That prize introduces a travel component: the winning team earns a trip to mainland France, extending the competition's reach well beyond Reunion's playing fields. By contrast with conventional youth tournament structures, the Orange Cup 2026 model runs educational programming in parallel with match competition throughout the entire cycle, not as a final-stage add-on. Karine Bonnal, Commercial Manager for French bee on Reunion, outlined the airline's participation rationale. "We are very pleased to continue our engagement alongside Orange and the Ligue Réunionnaise de Football for this new Orange Cup edition," Bonnal said. "This partnership matters particularly to us because it allows young Reunionese to experience sports and educational adventure, with a culminating experience that opens new horizons for the victorious team." Whether that integrated delivery model holds across all sectors and all phases as pool play spreads island-wide through mid-October will test the coordination among Orange Reunion Mayotte, the LRF, and their club-level partners on the ground. The regional final in late November will offer the clearest measure yet of how far the format can scale.