Cameroon's youth football club beat its Slovakian counterpart 2-1 to win the championship of the 2015 China (Shanghai) International Youth Football Invitational on July 17, marking the end of this week-long sports gala.

The gala was co-organized by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, the Shanghai Sports Bureau, the Shanghai Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, the China School Sports Federation and the Shanghai Overseas Chinese Foundation.

Players from the Cameroon youth football club pose for a group photo after being crowned champion of the 2015 China (Shanghai) International Youth Football Invitational on July 17. [Tan Leda / For China Daily]

Drum performances at the closing ceremony of the 2015 China (Shanghai) International Youth Football Invitational on July 17. [Photo/shedunews.com]

According to the organizers, the tournament aims to become an annual event and an international platform for young soccer players to exchange football skills and improve the quality of China’s campus football.

This year, it attracted a total of 12 youth teams with eight from other countries such as Germany, Spain, Slovakia, Russia, Australia, Cameroon and Thailand. The four Chinese teams were from Shanghai, Fujian province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. After fierce competition, the Cameroon and Slovakia teams stood out for the final game.

An awards ceremony was held after the final competition. In addition to prizes for the top three teams, the organizers also made several individual awards, including best athlete, best goalkeeper, best coach, best referee and best scorer.

At the ceremony, an international youth football league consisting of the participating 12 teams was announced to promote exchanges and communication among young players from China and abroad.

To make the ceremony more interesting and introduce Chinese culture to the foreign guests, percussion music performances featuring Chinese drums were presented.