Twenty-two of the Island’s elite future football prospects will travel to Florida next month to undergo further evaluation by top Brazilian instructor Thadeu Concalves.

The president of the Instituto Brasilerio de Futebol (BFUT) visited Bermuda over the weekend to help recruit a pioneering group of youth footballers that will embark on an ambitious four-year programme designed to better prepare themselves for the collegian or professional ranks.

Concalves, who reckons the Island’s young footballers have a lot in common with their Brazilian counterparts, said the final group that will train in Florida from December 18 to 22 will be selected by the end of the week.

“This weekend we had the opportunity to analyse different levels of the group and by Friday we should have the first meeting with the players and their parents to educate them about the complete process.

“We are going to invite 22 players to come to Florida for five days where we will be able to upgrade their education in a professional environment to prepare them for the next step which is the competitive level,” Concalves explained.

Of the original 22 players, a final group of 18 will be selected to travel to Brazil next July to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Cup when the Brazilian instructor returns to Bermuda in late January.

“They will train first in Sao Paulo where they will also have a chance to compete against top competition like Santos before we go to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the tournament,” Concalves explained.

“We need to make sure we expose the players to a higher level because in that environment we are going to have many international club scouts observing the level of the players that we have.”

Of the 40 players assessed over the weekend, five of them already have the potential to become future professionals, Concalves said.

“I’d say we have here five players who have what we call the green finger — potential players that could be well developed in the right environment with continued education to become a professional player. The rest may need a little more time to develop,” he added.

“And the good thing here is that the parents are behind the kids which is very different from what you have in Brazil where, unfortunately, the parents don’t get to see the kids when they go to the professional environment.”

Accompanying Concalves in Bermuda over the weekend was Miami FC coach Chiquinho Assis who is highly impressed by the level of skill young Bermudian footballers possess.

“It’s unbelievable, especially at age 15. It’s the same level as in Brazil,” he said. “For us this is kind of a discovery and the quantity of participants in the sport locally is unbelievable for the size of the country.”

Assis’ primary role during last weekend’s camps — held at Devonshire Rec. and Bermuda College — was to identify potential candidates to attend a high performance camp in Florida.

The Brazilian has already selected five local players, however their names are being withheld until a later date.

The chosen five will also be further evaluated in a professional setting in Florida next month with the possibility of undergoing football trials in March 2007 with USL A League side, Miami FC.

Concalves also revealed plans to stage an eight-week International Residential Football Camp locally on an annual basis, starting next August.

“We know there are a few countries that are very interested in understanding the BFUT philosophy and methodology,” he said. “And we also think Bermuda’s central location is ideal. And it will be great for players in Bermuda to interact with players from all over the world.

“The residential camp will be in August 2007 where are going to focus on kids ages 12 to 17.”

Local BFUT affiliates Eugene Joell and Curtis Degraff unveiled additional plans to stage a Development Futsol Five-a-Side League for kids aged seven to 14 that will run for eight weeks starting in May 2007.

Organisers have tentative plans to stage both events at the National Sports Centre (NSC).

“To us this is the solution towards bridging the gap between development and performance at the senior level,” Joell said.

“That’s our mandate, to assist and create more opportunities for other players. And that’s what we are here for — total development.”

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Young Bermudian footballers are like Brazilians says coach