X-Roads junior players will get a taste of international competition this weekend when they take part in the Virginia Cup, one of the biggest youth tournaments on the United States East Coast.

Premier Division club has taken under-11 and under-17 players for matches taking place on Saturday and Sunday. For many of the players, some drawn from other local clubs, this will be their first time playing outside Bermuda.

This will be the third year for X-Roads competing in Virginia’s largest Labour Day football tournament, where other participants are drawn from MLS Next, ECNL and Pre-MLS Next level clubs from in and around Virginia.

Matches will be staged across Williamsburg and Richmond, giving the players a chance to test themselves against some of the best talent in Virginia.

X-Roads’ youth technical director Thaaqib Talbot, who is also one of the under-17 coaches, indicated their participation in the tournament equips the players with the necessary tools they need for growth.

“We enjoy competing in this tournament because it combines a lot of different elements,” Talbot told The Royal Gazette.

“These are what we are looking for when providing player development opportunities overseas for our players such as near distance, travel cost, overall competitive level of teams and opportunity to compete and test themselves against some of the best players in the East Coast.

“Some of our older players have aspirations of playing at the collegiate level in the United States and at the MLS Next, and ECNL level is where most D1 colleges are recruiting from these days so it allows them to see where they are at.

“We flew out on Wednesday and come back next Tuesday. The U11s and U17s have two games on Saturday, which will test our recovery and squad depth and one game on Sunday.

“We have a total of 29 players competing between the two teams, with 13 U11 players and 16 U17 players. We also incorporate and provide guest playing opportunities for local and overseas players to compete.

“We are very excited to get this tournament started, the boys have trained well this summer and are ready.

“We had a good hard morning session on Thursday morning and we have another tactical session on Friday morning and then game time over the weekend.

“We are quietly confident and the players look to represent their families, communities, clubs and Bermuda to the best of their ability.”

Talbot expressed his appreciation to organisations and individuals who played a part in ensuring that the two teams travelled.

“We would like to thank the following sponsors for their support in making this trip possible,” he said.

“Mass Ltd, Fluffy Stuff Snowballs, J Harvey and everyone who supported the players fund raising efforts at Lindos in Warwick and Devonshire.

“We also would like to thank the coaching staff and administrators for their continuing hard work behind the scenes to make the tour another success.”