Named in honour of our men’s captain, Reece James, and his sister and Chelsea Women's star, Lauren, the tournament recognises two of the club’s most successful players to have represented our Academy.

Reece started his Chelsea journey in the club’s development centre at the age of six, while Lauren spent four years in our Academy from Under-10 level. Their rise to become key figures in the Blues' senior sides and England internationals continues to inspire the next generation of young players.

This year’s competition was expanded to include a girls’ event, bringing Under-14 teams together alongside the Under-16 boys at Cobham.

Eight teams competed in the boys’ tournament – Bayern Munich, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Rangers, the Right to Dream Academy and Shamrock Rovers - while the girls’ competition featured Celtic, Feyenoord and the Right to Dream Academy.

The two-day competition began with an opening ceremony on Saturday, during which Lauren presented the trophies. Later in the day, all our visiting teams headed to Stamford Bridge to watch the Premier League fixture against Newcastle United.

Reece then attended on Sunday alongside several of his Chelsea team-mates to watch the action.

Chelsea Under-16 boys enjoyed a strong campaign, going unbeaten in the group stage with two wins and a draw. We edged past Club Brugge 1-0 in the knockout round before defeating Right to Dream Academy 4-3 in an entertaining final to secure the trophy.

The Under-14 girls matched that achievement. They also finished the group phase unbeaten with two victories and a draw, recorded a 3-0 win in the semi-final, and then beat Feyenoord 3-0 in the final to complete a double success for the hosts.

Ben Knight, our Under-9 to Under-16 Academy manager, said: ‘We are incredibly proud to lead a tournament that welcomed young players from across Europe and around the world, offering them the chance to travel to Cobham and be part of a truly special experience.

‘This took a lot of commitment and hard work from our operations team, support staff, and St Mary’s students, who all played a vital role in delivering such a memorable occasion. The talent on show was impressive across the boys and girls tournaments and it was fantastic to see both Chelsea teams lifting silverware.’

With both trophies remaining at Cobham, the tournament provided a fitting showcase of the strength of Chelsea’s Academy and the legacy of the James siblings.

Take a look at some of our favourite moments captured during the Reece and Lauren James Cup…