ST. PETERSBURG, April 15. /TASS/. A draw for the 8th Lev Burchalkin U-13 International Youth Football Tournament was held in St. Petersburg, a TASS correspondent reported.

The participating eight teams were divided into two groups with four in each.

Group A includes football clubs Almaz-Antey (Russia), Fenerbahce (Turkey), San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina) and Dinamo Minsk (Belarus).

Group B has football clubs Zenit (Russia), Crvena Zvezda (Serbia), Palmeiras (Brazil) and Cruz Azul (Mexico).

The draw ceremony was attended by Mikhail Podvyaznikov, the president of Almaz-Antey football club, which is the host of the tournament, Anton Shantyr a chairman of the St. Petersburg Government Committee on Physical Culture and Sports and former forward of Zenit FC Alexander Kerzhakov.

“This year we have moved away from the blind draw to make it more interesting,” Podvyaznikov said. “The contestants were divided into two groups. Zenit is in one, Almaz-Antey is in the other.”

“And to make it more interesting for everyone, each group will have a team from South America, Europe, as well as our Belarusian and Mexican friends,” he continued. “This will generate some interest in the matches. There is a chance for all children to play with almost all participants of the tournament.”

Podvyaznikov also noted that the Mexican club Cruz Azul is participating in the tournament for the first time and became the first team from Central America to compete for the Lev Burchalkin Cup.

The tournament will be played on May 15-17 in St. Petersburg at the Almaz-Antey Stadium, located on the territory of the eponymous sports complex in the Spartak Garden. The tournament will be held with the support of Almaz-Antey Group, the Russian Football Union and the St. Petersburg Football Federation.

Almaz-Antey is the tournament’s reigning champion after last year the football club defeated Zenit in the final 1-0.