The coach at Charlotte FC academy is honoured his team are the first Major League Soccer-affiliated side to compete in the illustrious Bermuda Triangle Cup.

Speaking shortly after his side arrived on island for the tournament which starts at the National Sports Centre on Thursday, Patrick Daka, who is taking charge of 20 under-15 players as well as four coaches, is looking forward to the competition.

The Charlotte youngsters will play against the Bermuda National Academy under-15 and under-17 sides, Somerset, G Ball Academy and Hurricanes, a team made up of players who are home for the summer after being off the island in boarding schools all over the world.

“We don’t know what to expect, we are the pioneers,” Daka said.

“Its an honour to be the first MLS group to come and play in the Bermuda Triangle Cup. We are looking forward to it. We are excited, we are prepared, we’re ready, we are here to compete and we are here to win.

“We knew before the season was over last year, so we knew months in advance. These guys were on off-season and they just came back in last week to prepare for this event.

“We got an invitation through BSI [Bermuda Sports International], who are obviously working with the Bermuda Football Association. They reached out and wanted to see if we were interested. We looked at it and felt it was a good opportunity to bring our players andto have a different experience.

“This is the off-season and our new team is getting to know each other, so this is a good way to come here, get to know each other and play. Our season starts in August.

“We are looking forward to good games, good weather and good food. We are here to compete and everything else falls behind. They are going to have fun, but they’re going to look good while doing it.”

Midfielder, Braden Mathis, 14, is thrilled to be in Bermuda and seeing what the island has to offer

“It feels great and I am excited,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the sights I get to see and most importantly playing soccer. We are all excited, we are here to win and we’re well prepared.”

Tyler Beveridge, also 14, has already been impressed by the beauty of the island..

“It’s amazing; I look outside and it’s beautiful,’’ Beveridge said.

“The competition is going to be really hard but it’s going to be fun to play. I know we are playing at night, so it’s going to be cool. Its been fun to work and, I am just glad to be here with my team-mates.”

Brian Martin, the BSInternational vice-president and co-founder spoke of how bringing an MSL academy to Bermuda was no easy task.

“It’s great for an MLS academy to be on the island for the first time,’’ Martin said.

“To pull that off was a lot of moving parts, so it’s great that they are here.”