Major League Soccer?s New York/New Jersey Metrostars and DC United are sending youth teams to Bermuda to help both the Island?s under-20 and under-17 national squad?s prepare for their upcoming participation in the CONCAAF qualifying tournament in Jamaica and Cuba respectively.

Courtesy of XL Capital, the Metrostars? under-19 team will play two games against the Island?s under-20 outfit at the National Sports Centre over the weekend, and will fight it out on Sunday at 7 p.m. for the newly created Bermuda Invitation Trophy

Meanwhile, DC United?s under-16 squad arrive next Monday and will take on Bermuda under-16s on Tuesday, also at the NSC starting at 6 p.m.

Bermuda Football Association also confirmed yesterday that after a brief hiatus following the discovery that they would not be able to use the NSC facilities to train over the summer, the under-17 and under-20 squads have been back training regularly at the Somersall Road field in Smith?s and at the Bermuda College.

Though national youth football director Kenny Thompson bemoaned the fact that the technical work he had wanted to pursue with the players had been ?hindered? by the relative uneveness of the surfaces at those two training bases, he insisted that he was still ?pleased? overall with the way in which the squads had been preparing.

He also expressed his pleasure that Bermuda?s young national players would be provided with a ?strenuous test? before heading to the tournaments in the Caribbean region.

?It is so important that our young players get as much exposure as possible to high quality opposition in the run-up to big tournaments and I believe this is being provided,? he said.

?It was very difficult to find somewhere to train once we discovered that we would have almost no access to the Sports Centre over the summer. But although the surfaces are not ideal, we have been making good progress and are looking forward to the games ahead.?

The match between New York Metrostars and Bermuda under-19s will be preceded by a game between a Portuguese Select Eleven and a Bermuda Select.

The latter match kicks off at 5 p.m. at the NSC and is being held to celebrate the host nation?s recent strong showing at Euro 2004.