A group of young Bermuda footballers are broadening their horizons at the World Sport Academy UE Cornellá Programme in Barcelona.

Eight players aged from 7 to 14 are taking part in a ten-day training camp at the academy, where they are receiving high-level coaching, playing in competitive matches and training with Cornellá’s various youth teams.

The group is comprised of players from Bermuda Athletic Association and the club’s World Sport Academy programme, which is a based on the same methodology at Cornellá.

Accompanying the group, that includes one female player, is coach Frankie Brewster Jr who said the youngsters were thrilled to experience the opportunity.

“They can’t sit still,” Brewster said. “They see a football and they’re running off to play.”

Brewster hopes that the young players will take their game to new heights.

“We want to see how the other teams here work, how fast and aggressive they are, and how we need to improve our game,” he said. “If the players are paying attention, they should learn something.”

The group’s itinerary also includes various educational and cultural activities as well as attending at La Liga matches.

“It’s a little bit of everything; sporting and football development, cultural development and educational as well,” Kenny Thompson, the BAA technical director, said.

BAA forged a partnership with Cornellà in 2011 and since then many of their best youth players have passed through the doors at their academy.

Cornellà are best known for their work in youth player development, with Jordi Alba, the Barcelona left back, among the notable players to emerge from the club’s academy.

“This experience is a continuation of the partnership which BAA has with Cornellá,” Thompson added.

“It’s a continuation of exposing as many players as possible to a top football environment and a high level of training and competition.

“We want the players to experience the football culture that we see on television to give them a real feeling of what top football looks and feels like.

“They will train in the morning in the World of Sport Academy training programme.

“In the afternoon the group will play matches and some of them will train with Cornellá teams, so it’s the same rhythm as the Bermuda residency participants Kane [Crichlow], Blaiz [Hall] and Antonio [Carvelho] are involved in.”

Apart from two male players, the rest of the group is attending the academy for the first time.

“This is a continuation of what we have been doing for years,” Thompson added.

“What we do multiple times a year is bring over players so they get the opportunity train and see what the level is like in this environment.

“We have this relationship with Cornellá that is an excellent region for football. It’s a quality football region, amazing really, and certainly one of the best that I’ve seen.”