NVCC Youth Players Return After Scotland Tour
Youth players of the North Village Community Club arrived back on home soil on Wednesday night [July 24] after a very successful Scotland tournament that saw a group of approximately 18 players training and playing multiple games throughout their trip.
One of the training facilities was located at Harmony Row which is a Youth Club in Glasgow just a couple of miles from Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium. Harmony Row is the youth club team that Sir Alex Ferguson played for prior to playing with Dunfermline, Rangers and prior to going onto a highly successful managerial career with St Mirren, Aberdeen and, Manchester United.
Some of the athletes had the opportunity to be integrated with various teams playing in the tournament and made a good impression on their fellow players and coaching staff. Coaches say the players got along well and did their part marketing Bermuda by inviting players on their guest teams back to the island for swimming and fun.
The group had a very busy schedule with different players playing at different venues and times throughout the tour. All the players had the opportunity to go on a sightseeing trip to Edinburgh and take part in community service activities around the game venues.
Participating in the tournament was just one aspect of the trip to Glasgow. North Village representatives met with officials from Rangers Football Club and have signed a deal with the club’s International Soccer Schools programme. The Bermuda club becomes the fourth to sign a deal with Rangers along with America, Australia and New Zealand.
“We will keep in touch and share ideas and coaching methods. Coach education is a big part of it as it allows us to help them – even when we are not over there they can still work at the level that we are working at”, Rangers Overseas Development Officer Greg Statt told the EVening Times.
“It is a soccer school relationship that we are building so it will all be youth players we are working with.
“We wouldn’t be doing our jobs or the best for Rangers if we weren’t looking at their talented players. We will put a pathway in place so that if there is someone who looks to be at the right level then they can come over.
“They will visit us every year and work with us and we will visit them so we will certainly be keeping an eye out for any young players that have got the talent”.
“We have created quite a stir locally with one Rangers supporters forum [with about 30,000 members] having an article on the deal we have signed with Rangers, the largest newspaper in Glasgow are running an article on Monday about us and one of Scotland’s largest football supporters forums also want us to do an article for them on the partnership”, the spokesperson said.
A North Village Club spokesperson said, “Congratulations to all of the players, parents and staff who participated in this inaugural event. We are very proud and pleased with the impact you have made for your country, your Club and your families.
“Special thanks to our Director of Football, Stephen Coddington and Coach Craig who assisted in spearheading the tour and ensuring that things went smoothly.
“To our coaches and parental chaperones, we are encouraged that you have learned while seeing a unique perspective, and to all of our players, we hope that you have embraced new friends, cultures and football experiences during this historic, ground breaking tour.”
Rangers Football Club is based in Glasgow, Scotland, that plays in the Second Division of the Scottish Football League. Their home ground is Ibrox Stadium in the south-west of the city.
