Sixteen of Bermuda's most promising teenagers will be striving to catch the eye of overseas college scouts at the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend.

Bermuda Football Association (BFA) in conjunction with the Bermuda Schools Sports Federation (BSSF) have entered an Under-19 team in the competition where they will play three matches against US opposition.

It will mark the first time an international team have competed at the CASL tournament, which is a recruitment ground for over 400 universities and colleges.

The squad includes Jaylon Bather, Troy Tucker, Tariq Sabir, Tahj Bell, Aaron Nelson, Rakeem DeShields, Corey Richardson, Anthony Hunter, Dante Leverock, Casey Castle, Nelson Smith, Daniel Andrade, Jah-Quille Stowe, Erin Simons, Terryn Fray and Tristan Hall.

They will be accompanied on the trip by national academy head coach Scott Morton, assistant coach Richard North, BSSF administrator Manny Faria and senior education officer Darrin Lewis.

Of the 16 players travelling, at least five are expected to win scholarships at NCCA colleges in division's one, two and three.

"I think goalkeeper Tahj Bell has a good shot at attracting a division one college, while there are another four or five players how can reach division two," said Lewis.

"Around 400 coaches will be attending the tournament and it's rare you get so many scouts together in one place.

"Out of 300 scouts invited to our All-Star weekend only two attended and that shows that we need to bring the talent to them."

Lewis revealed the total cost of the CASL trip would be around $20,000 but believed it was justified considering a division one scholarship was worth $18,000 to $35,000.

BFA Technical Director Derek Broadley said the tournament would offer Bermuda's team a good platform to showcase their talent.

"We have worked hard to prepare the team for the tournament and are confident of a great performance. A very stringent criteria was used to select the players and it includes a minimum GPA score of 2.0 and they must be playing for their school team."

Richard Calderon, BFA president, added: "Our youth players will benefit from the experience and opportunity to join top universities and colleges to further their education."

Bermuda play Harpeth FC Hurricanes from Tennessee and Leg A-Z Gainesville Caimans from Florida on Friday, before taking on Boulder County Force Red from Colorado on Saturday.