The next generation of Bermuda footballers flew out over the weekend to face a series of tough matches in Trinidad.

Under the watchful eye of experienced Devonshire Cougars? coach Andrew Bascome, the national Under-16 team will play three matches in the group stages of the Caribbean Football Union?s Youth Cup, which is doubling up as a qualifier for next year?s age group World Cup in Korea.

More than two dozen teams are taking part in the tournament across six venues in Trinidad with Bermuda opening their account tomorrow night.

Bermuda take on regional powerhouses Canada in Bacolet before playing a Trinidad ?B? side on Thursday and then rounding off their group against another strong side when they meet El Salvador on Saturday ? the nation who knocked the senior squad out of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.

The group winners from the seven different sets of teams along with just the best second-place finisher will progress into the quarter-finals on August 22. The semi-finals are scheduled for August 24, with the third-place match and final set for two days later.

In terms of the World Cup, the best Caribbean team (excluding Jamaica) from the tournament will advance to the 2007 CONCACAF Under-17 final round along with Canada, Mexico and USA, two squads from Central America and final group hosts Honduras and Jamaica.

The top two squads from each of the final round groups will qualify for the World Cup in Korea. The two third-place finishers from each of the groups will meet in a two-game play-off for the final Confederation berth in the FIFA event.

In a busy few weeks for the international football programme, the women?s national team, recently reinstated in the Gold Cup qualifiers, are playing in early September ? also in Trinidad ? while the men?s senior team head to the Digicel Cup at the end of next month.

The tournament, originally scheduled for the Dominican Republic, has now been moved to the US Virgin Islands.