Wanderers Academy midfielder Noah Hooper has been named the Golden Boot winner at the 2026 Liam Brady Cup, capping a strong showing for the Under 16s at one of youth football’s most respected international tournaments.
Hosted by the Arsenal Academy in London from 15–17 May, the Liam Brady Cup brought together eight of the world’s leading youth programs, including Arsenal, Feyenoord Rotterdam, AC Sparta Prague, Nottingham Forest, Panathinaikos, Club Atlético Talleres and Independiente del Valle providing one of the most demanding international environments available to players at this level.
Hooper’s Golden Boot award stands as a significant individual achievement against that calibre of opposition, and a reflection of the quality emerging through the Wanderers’ Academy pathway.
The tournament featured a full group stage followed by a knockout phase, with all eight sides progressing through to either championship or placement matches across three days of high-intensity competition.
For the Wanderers Academy, the Liam Brady Cup represented another important step in the club’s commitment to exposing its developing players to elite European competition, measuring themselves against programs that have produced some of the game’s top professionals.
Hooper’s recognition as the tournament’s leading scorer underlines the standard being set within the Wanderers’ development system, and the potential of the next generation coming through Western Sydney.
