Six of Bermuda’s brightest young football stars have returned to the island after competing in Europe.

JahZion Taylor, Dakayo Leverock, Xavier Thomas Bassett, Roman Wilkinson, Ibraheem Talbot and Zydon Lightbourne Furbert made the trip to Salou, a small coastal resort on the northeast coast of Spain, to compete in the Surf Cup International. The talented teenagers represented International Development Academy (IDA) Bermuda at the event and were included in the IDA Valencia under-15 and under-17 teams for the four-day competition.

Richard Todd, director of IDA Bermuda, accompanied the players to the tournament and was impressed with the level of competition.

“It was quite impressive the number of professional academies and clubs that were in attendance,” Todd said. “There were teams from Europe, including Spain, the UK, America, and Asia, so it was a very high level, and the boys had the opportunity to play against teams from several regions.

“They played against a team from Japan, they also had a match against Stoke City, and it’s a very impressive level of play to be able to watch. The under-15s played against Stoke, and teams from Japan, Spain, and Canada, while the older boys had the opportunity to play Mineiro as well as academy programmes from Spain.”

Taylor and Leverock played in the older age group and advanced from the group stages to the Gold Championship, where they were eliminated in the semi-final on penalty kicks by the Nastic Sports Academy B team. Meanwhile, Thomas Bassett, Wilkinson, Talbot, and Lightbourne Furbert reached the Silver Championship but were defeated in the quarter-final by Elite Football Academy.

Todd noted a noticeable leap in quality between the year groups as he assessed the matches.

“At the younger levels, we see our players are more ready to compete, and the gap is a little less,” Todd said. “At the older age group, the gap seems to be a little wider, but we were really impressed with how the boys did in the under-15 age group.”

Each of the four under-15 players were starters and key contributors in their matches for the IDA Valencia academy team.

“Xavier, this was his second opportunity to play after competing in April at the Mediterranean International Cup, and he continues to impress with his ability. He was outstanding and made some key saves to keep the team in matches.

“Zydon was excellent as an attacking player and played as a centre forward, while Roman and Ibraheem certainly added bite and stability in the midfield.

“In the under-17 age group, it was a much bigger step up for the guys. They were playing in the IDA first team, and the speed, pace, and technical ability were definitely an eye-opener for them. All the players can leave with areas of the game to improve on and action steps to implement when they are back home in Bermuda.”

Todd was pleased with the positive feedback about the Bermudian players and revealed that at least a couple of them might be invited to join the residency programme in Spain.

“I know that IDA Valencia is keen on a couple of the players and is having follow-up discussions in the hope of maybe one or two enrolling in the academy residency programme in 2025,” Todd said. “We think that they need more regular opportunities to see and compete against teams at this level.

“It’s hard in the space of one week to make long-term and permanent change, but what we would look to do is invite them for follow-on events. Each one of the players has previously travelled to represent IDA Bermuda with our select teams or as guest players. We will continue to work with them as opportunities arise and do our best to place them in these situations to aid their development.”

IDA Bermuda has participated in international events since 2021, and Todd is keen to expand opportunities for players enrolled in the scheme, with a focus on growing the girls’ programme.

“Over the past three years, we have taken teams to participate in the Super Cup Northern Ireland tournament in July, and we’ve just received and confirmed our invite and participation for 2025,” he said. “We’re now in the process of forming a 2012 select boys team. We’re also excited about the opportunity to expand with the girls and are planning to take a 2011 and 2012 girls select team to a tournament in Florida in March.

“Boys from 2008 to 2011 will head to Spain, and ultimately, we would like to return to the Surf Cup in November with the hope of taking two teams, one boys and one girls, to give our players the opportunity to play together and see how we can compete.”