Leading former Premier League players John Barnes and Andy Cole are on island to inspire the next generation as part of the Don’t Cut Your Future Short Bermuda Football Association U13 Invitational.

Barnes made 407 appearances and scored 108 goals for Liverpool. He won two league championships and was twice named Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. Cole scored 187 Premier League goals in 414 appearances, won five league titles and formed part of Manchester United’s treble-winning side in 1998—99.

The two Premier League legends will be joined by Bermudian community leaders, athletes, educators and professionals at the event, which brings together ten football clubs across six integrated development stations. The programme is designed to help young players develop not only their football skills, but also the confidence, resilience, communication skills and personal agency needed to thrive beyond the pitch.

For Dr Ramon Arscott, Barnes’s participation represents the continuation of a powerful cycle of inspiration.

“I was a 13-year-old boy in the early 1990s and captain of my high school U14 football team at Campion College in Kingston, Jamaica, when an awe-inspiring legend came to our training session and sat with us, giving us pearls of wisdom,” Dr Arscott recalled.

“It was the first time we had seen, in the flesh, an example of the pinnacle of football in our time. He was in his prime. He spoke like us. He looked like us. We related to him. It was then that we knew what was possible. That man was, and is, John Barnes, then captain of Liverpool F.C.”

The event is underpinned by the support and active participation of more than 20 community leaders, with The Character Station, Think Moment and World Cup Highlight Reel supported by: Tyrell Burgess, Bermudian international footballer and youth advocate; Sean Trott, elite long-distance runner and May 24 champion; Jon Beard, educator and respected contributor to Bermuda’s sporting community; Amanda Steward, human resources professional with 20 years of multinational experience; Darren Wood, gang-violence reduction specialist; Azeem Khan, cricketer and ReGen Group skipper; Keishen Bean, third-sector professional

The Profile-Building and Media Pitch Station will feature Ben Rego, real-estate professional with strong marketing expertise; Sue Khan, consultant supporting underrepresented groups in finding their voices; Killian Elkinson, former professional footballer and litigation lawyer; Dr Ramon Arscott, Harvard-trained, double-board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon; Daniel Wood, Grateful Miles cofounder and property professional; and Cheyra Ball, safeguarding professional.

The Risk, Reward, Refine, Repeat Station will be supported by the Future Leaders Group, including executive director McKenzie-Kohl Tuckett and the organisation’s trustees. A photo booth will provide profile pictures for the players and create a supportive setting in which they can confidently practise and refine their personal pitches.