Young Footballers To Participate In Naples Cup
The Bermuda Football Association National Academy program has accepted an invitation from Premier Soccer Services to participate in the Naples Cup tournament to be held in Naples, Florida from August 23-25.
This invitation comes from the event organizers after the successful participation of the NA teams in the Open Cup tournament in Decatur, Alabama in April.
The Naples Cup is a Florida Youth Soccer Association and United States Youth Soccer Association sanctioned tournament and will feature 160+ soccer teams from the United States and internationally. The event offers USYSA affiliated Premier, Challenge, Classic, and Academy level U11-U16 girls and boys competitive soccer opportunities.
Scott Spencer of Premier Soccer Services said,”We’re excited to welcome the Bermuda National Soccer Academy to South Florida and the Naples Cup tournament this weekend. AT past tournaments, the National Soccer Academy has performed well against top teams in the United States.
“We’ve assembled some of the best teams from Florida in the divisions that Bermuda will compete in and everyone’s full of anticipation to start the tournament. We hope that the tournament will be a productive step in the development programming for the teams.”
Three NA select teams from the 2000, 2001 and 2002 birth years will compete in the U14, U13 and U12 divisions. A total of 43 players along with 5 coaches and officials and parent chaperones will depart Bermuda on Wednesday [Aug 21].
The teams will participate in warm-up matches on Thursday [Aug 22] against teams from the Lee County Strikers Soccer Club of Ft. Myers, Florida before beginning tournament play on Friday evening.
In the U12 Boys Gold Division Bermuda NA Select will compete against the Naples Futbol Club, Cape Coral Cyclones, Englewood Rays Soccer Club and Lee County Strikers teams from Florida in a round robin format.
The U13 Boys Gold Division will feature six teams with a three team group format determining advancing semi finalist. Bermuda NA Select has been placed in group 1 with the Immokalee Cobras from Ft. Myers Florida and the Kendall Soccer Club from Miami, Florida. Group 2 contains the Mako Sharks, Leg Az Caimans, and Weston Futbol Club who are all Florida based teams.
The U14 Boys Gold Division will also see the Bermuda NA Select play group matches looking to advance to the knock out phase. Bermuda Na Select have been grouped with Mako Soccer Club and the Immokalee Cobras in Group 1. Group 2 contains the West Pines Soccer Club, Leg-As Caimans and the Tampa Bay United Soccer Club.
Richard Todd, Director of BFA National Academy commented, “ It is pleasing that we continue with the opportunity for National Academy players and teams to gain valuable experience competing in events outside of Bermuda. Our relationship with Scott Spencer and Premier Soccer Services is proving to be valuable in assisting with these opportunities at tournament and events in the United States.
“The organization and facilities are first class and the level of competition is sufficiently challenging for our players. Events such as these also help to build and develop a network with coaches, clubs and programs that can provide development opportunities for our players and program in the future.”
