The Bermuda Football Association National Academy Under-14 and Under-16 teams left Bermuda on Wednesday for Decatur, Alabama where they will be participating in the Open Cup Tournament.The travel party included 34 players and five coaches, including national coach Andrew Bascome and National Academy coaches Phillip Burgess, Don Vickers and Karl Roberts. Maceo Dill is the Head of Delegation.Two US based National Academy players will join up with the squad in the US and while the teams arrived safely at Huntsville International Airport, unfortunately not all of their bags made the connection.The Open Cup is a college showcase tournament that will feature over 240 teams from many US states and international teams. The event will provide the Academy teams with much needed exposure and match play, and is a part of the build-up for FIFA U17 World Cup qualifiers to be held in 2014. Players will also have the opportunity to be seen by the college coaches and scouts attending the event, thus beginning the college recruitment process.Premier Soccer Services President and Open Cup tournament director, Scott Spencer is excited about the addition of the Bermuda teams to the event.“Premier Soccer Services is proud to welcome the Bermuda National Academy Football Teams to the Open Cup international soccer tournament,” said Spencer. “We’ve continued to grow the standard and reach of our tournaments, and these teams represent the standard and international representation that we are looking for.“Adding to the international list that we already have from such places as Mexico and Brazil, Bermuda will bring a different dimension that we are looking for. From Richard Todd’s past experience in Alabama and soccer coaching in the USA, we’ve been able to use this link to offer these invitations to the Bermuda National Academy.“Day 2 of the tour will see the teams travel on a coach bus to Darlington School and Soccer Academy in Rome, Georgia. The players will be given a tour of the prestigious prep school before stretching their legs in warm-up matches against Darlington Soccer Academy teams that will feature Bermuda National Academy players Vance Wall-Brown, Jacob Greene and Jai Burgess.BFA National Academy teams:Under-14s: Jarye Bean, Travis Boyles, Tyejae Burchall, Aaron Burgess, Solomon Burrows, Nelson Carpenter, Judah Chapman, Brian Darling, Haile Eve, Jomari Gooden, Kole Hall, Tahzeiko Harris, Takyh Sharrieff-Hayward, Jason Symonds, Jahzarde Samuels, Jecoa Thomas, Matteo Turner, Keeron WilsonUnder-16s: Detre Bell, Justin Bell, Jazario Brimmer, Alaye Darrell, Liam Evans, David Jones Jr., Jordan Lambe, Oneko Lowe, Cameron Neal, Quinn Outerbridge, Jadan Ratteray-Smith, Jaz Ratteray-Smith, Jack Giacomo, Jahtino Richardson-Martin, Ajahree Smith, Isaiah Taylor, Tevahn Tyrell, Ra-Che Williams.