Following the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Groupe DANONE decided to create an international football tournament for kids.

In 2000, edition of the Danone Nations Cup takes place, gathering 8 teams from 2 continents : Bulgaria, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine: Already 35000 players and 125 000 spectators worldwide . France becomes the first team to raise the DNC trophy, whilst one of the Turkish players involved in the tournament was Aydin Yilmaz, who is now playing, as a professional, for one of the best clubs in Turkey, Galatasaray. Stories like this confirm the philosophy of the event, "Believe in your dreams".

In 2001, the event considerably grows up as 24 teams, representing 24 nations from 4 continents are part of it. Reunion Islands wins the victory in 2001, while Argentina wins the 2002 edition.

In 2003, the Danone Nations Cup moved up to a higher level , 32 countries participate and Zinedine Zidane becomes the official ambassador of the competition. Between 2003 and 2006, the event is respectively won by South Africa, Spain and Reunion Islands.


In the year 2007 the Danone Nations Cup takes another step by gathering 40 countries from all over the world. Therefore, new countries join the adventure such as Saudi Arabia, Chile, Hungary, Uruguay, Namibia and Bangladesh. The world final takes place in front of 35,000 spectators and more than 250 journalists. South Africa is the winner of this edition.

In 2008, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Mauritius Islands and Qatar participate in the event. Eight years after its first victory, the team representing France makes its dream come true by winning the 9th edition in front of their ambassador and World Cup Champion Zinedine Zidane.

The World Finals of the 10th and 11th editions of the Danone Nations Cup will take place in the same country, and the same year as the FIFA Football World Cup: in Johannesburg, South Africa.

NEW DELHI: Elite football clubs from the country will participate in the first ever Yakult Danone Nations Cup to be kicked off here at theAmbedkar Stadium on July 11. The winner of the tournament, which will feature 168 budding footballers and 12 teams, will qualify for the international version of the Danone Nations Cup to be held in Paris from
September 4-7.

Among the top clubs that will participate in the two-day tournamnet include JCT Football Academy (Punjab), Salgaocar Sports Club (Goa) and Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur), besides others.

The teams, selected by the All India Football Federation, will be consisting of children in the age group of 10 to 12 years.

"This tournament aims to bring the football spirit in the country as it gives an oppurtunity to the children to get an international exposure very early in their career," Jochen Ebert, Managing Director Danone India said.