Youth teams from English Premier Division club West Ham and French First Division side Saint Etienne are set to compete in February's Clyde Best Invitational Youth Tournament.

"The tournament just keep getting better and better," said Best yesterday.

Last year saw the youth teams from French First Division side FC Sochaux and MLS club Colorado Rapids take part along with two of Bermuda's youth sides.

"It is fantastic from the point that our kids can play against top notch academies and hopefully they can learn from it. You are not going to get a better academy in the world than West Ham and Saint Etienne has a great pedigree as well," said the former West Ham striker.

And Best said this was a great chance for Bermuda's youngsters to get spotted.

"I think that if they really knuckle down and put their minds to it, I know someone can be spotted. They just have to be dedicated and take a chance. Once they spot you and they say they want you then the rest is up to you.

"But our kids must really want it. You have to be hungry and know what you want at an early age and set your goals and go for it. And although our kids get some great coaching, they have to do a lot of work by themselves. All that work will eventually pay off if you are prepared to put the time in. Just think of players like Pele, Bobby Moore and Beckenbauer – they didn't become great players overnight – they had to work at it.

"So my advice to our kids is just give it your best shot and don't worry too much about getting beat. If you can win fair play, but the most important thing is to go out there and show them what you can do."

The tournament was first started by the Bermuda Football Foundation (BFF) four years ago. The BFF was composed of Best, Richard and Robert Calderon.

Richard Calderon is now president of the BFA and said yesterday: "The tournament has elevated every year in terms of the quality of the teams. We started out with the with Regional Olympic Development Programme (ODP) and the State (ODP) teams and then we brought in Sochaux and the Colorado Rapids last year. Now we are bringing in the likes of West Ham and Saint Etienne. And it is even more special because West Ham United is the club that Clyde Best started (his professional career)."

The initiatives rolled out by the BFF are now being incorporated by the BFA, said Calderon. "This tournament is one of them and there are others like the prep school tours."

Calderon said that when the BFF was founded "we always wanted it to become part of the national association's initiatives. With the weight of the BFA behind the tournament it has now been able to grow."

Calderon said the BFA made the approach to West Ham but "Clyde was instrumental by the simple fact that they said 'yes' based on the fact that Clyde is an ex-player. We made the approach but Clyde was definitely involved.

"We are having the tournament over the (US) President's Day holiday weekend – February 12, 13 and 14 – so that the kids who are on football scholarships in the US can be involved."

Bermuda will field two teams – an under-17 and an under-15 team.

And like Best, Calderon said: "there is always the hope that a kid will be spotted by the academy coaches."

He added: "This tournament gives our kids a chance to test themselves at a very young age against academy players from professional organisations. This is a benchmark to see where they are against players who are being earmarked as for a professional career."

Calderon and BFF also began a relationship with French coach Jacques Crevousier four years' ago. Crevousier was instrumental in getting Sochaux to Bermuda last year and has also travelled to the Island to conduct coaching courses.

Crevousier introduced the French Model for Youth Development to Bermuda and also helped Bermuda coaches to travel to France to learn from the likes of Sochaux and the French national academy Clairefontaine.

"Scott Morton and Devarr Boyles were two of the coaches who went to France," said Calderon.

"And Jacques was also directly involved with getting Saint Etienne to Bermuda in February."

Last summer Best was involved with taking a Somerset CC youth team to West Ham for training and games and he met up with some of his old friends – one of whom is Tony Carr.

"Tony will be coming out and he has been doing a great job with West Ham's young kids for years and years," said Best.

"Tony and I played for the West Ham youth team up front together."

Carr is the current Director of Youth Development at West Ham. He became a West Ham youth player, joining in 1966 as a trainee striker, and cleaning the boots of the famous World Cup players Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore and Martin Peters.

In 1973 he was appointed as the Director of Youth Development academy and since then he has overseen the development of many talented players at what has become known within the game as The Academy of Football.

"It is amazing at the amount of players who have come through that academy," said Best. "Players like Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson all began their careers at the club. Now we have the likes of Mark Noble and Jack Collison and younger stars Freddie Sears, Junior Stanislas, James Tomkins, Josh Payne and Zavon Hines. But to be fair we are not doing so well this season and I think we need to get a few veterans into the side."

Of French club Saint Etienne, Best said: "They have a very good youth academy. For people who know their football history they will know that players like Johnny Rep and Platini played for Saint Etienne."