Kenni Thompson’s ambition of playing professional women’s football received a shot in the arm after Spanish giants FC Barcelona accepted the promising midfielder into their women’s youth academy.The daughter of former Bermuda midfielder and coach Kenny Thompson successfully completed trials in Spain last month to move a step closer to realising her goal.After passing the grade, the 11-year old footballer received offers from RCDEspanyol and Barcelona to play for their women’s youth academies.Thompson ultimately chose to go to Barcelona where she will now get the opportunity to further her development on a bigger stage and train at the same facility as the larger-than-life Lionel Messi.Given that she’s a big fan of Barcelona, it’s not difficult to see why Thompson chose the four-time UEFA Champions League champions over their La Liga rivals.“Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I follow them in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League,” the left footed midfielder said. “I am excited to be a part of a club like Barcelona.”Thompson is the first Bermudian to be accepted at Barcelona.One of the highlights during Thompson’s three-week trial in Spain arrived during an Under-14 women’s tournament when she scored a spectacular game-winning goal with a curling free kick from outside of the box.Thompson admitted that her heroics surpassed her own expectations.“I never felt I could do that because I had never taken a free kick from outside of the box before,” she said. “The ball curled around the ‘keeper and in the goal and it felt really good to get the winning goal.”Thompson’s clinical finishing left mom Kim awestruck.“Kenni placed the ball, went into a Ronaldo (Christiano) stance and curled the ball over the three-man wall and tucked it under the crossbar,” she said. “All the girls went wild and it was a big celebration.”Thompson said playing football in Spain was no easy feat.“It’s really difficult playing in Spain because the boys and girls there are much stronger and technical and the game is much faster than here,” she added. “It’s a big jump from Bermuda to go straight to Barcelona.“Playing in a professional environment is something that I have been dreaming about for a long time and I am very excited about this opportunity.”As for the language barrier she will encounter, Thompson said: “It will be a challenge but once I get the language down it will be much easier for me.“I love the culture in Spain and the people there are really nice.”BAA technical director Kenny Thompson hopes his daughter will make the most of what he termed as a “big opportunity” at Barcelona.“It’s a big opportunity because FC Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the world at the moment and most players around the world probably want to play for them,” he said. “So for a Bermudian like Kenni to have this opportunity is amazing.“At one point she was going to be playing with UECornella with the boys for anther year and play and train with Barcelona once a week. But then they (Barcelona) came back and said they have a spot for her for the season.“We don’t know where women’s football will be ten years from now. But the development and this experience and exposure both from a football, academic and social perspective will definitely hold her in a good position for the rest of her life.”