BERMUDA'S young football players will get a golden chance to impress the coaches from French League One team FC Sochaux as well as the coaches from the Colorado Rapids academy team when the Clyde Best Invitational Youth Tournament is staged next month.

"Our kids have to grab this opportunity with both hands," said Best this week shortly before departing Bermuda for a visit and reunion with his old club West Ham. (See Page 13).

"We didn't get these opportunities years ago. But this is a fantastic opportunity for our young players to not only learn and mix with the French and American players but to try and impress their coaches. Who knows where it might lead? Sochaux have one of the best youth programmes in France ¿ and that is saying something," added the former Hammers striker.

The tournament will be staged at the National Sports Centre from February 13-15 with four teams playing ¿ Sochaux, Colorado and two Bermuda teams. All the players will be 14 to 15 years old.

Best said: "Hopefully our young players will mix with all the overseas players on and off the field. We are having barbeques and stuff like that. That way they should be able to interact and talk about football ¿ what kind of training they are doing and things like that. Hopefully we can get them to mix and mingle ¿ that is the only way you can get them to learn.

"This is a great opportunity for our kids. Even though they (the French players) may speak a different language, football is the international language and I hope they take full advantage of this opportunity. I think tournaments like this are fantastic for these kids ¿ they can help plan their future. Things like college scholarships can come out of this as well as professional opportunities. It all depends on how far they want to go ¿ the buck stops with them really. We have brought these teams and coaches here and they have to do their part. We are there to put things in place."

Of the renown youth programme at Sochaux, Best said: "In France at their youth academies the kids go to school and play soccer. It is a serious business over there and we are nowhere near to doing what they are doing. They have been doing this for years and years. These are the kind of avenues we need to start looking at.

"Sochaux have one of the best youth programmes in all of France ¿ it works. If we can't take advantage of this we are crazy! There is always the chance that one of their coaches will like what they see and invite one of our kids over. There is always the chance. I say to our kids ¿ take advantage and take your chances because you never know who is watching. And the Rapids also have one of the better youth programmes in the States."

Richard Calderon, president of the Bermuda Football Association, said this week of the tournament: "This exposure can only make the Bermuda players better players and also possibly open doors for prep school, college and professional academy team opportunities. In the case of FC Sochaux this is a real opportunity to benchmark our youth players against top French academy players.

"As a part of our new Strategic Plan the BFA are seeking opportunities to expose our youth players to a variety of teams and experiences. On the one hand we see forging stronger ties with the United States Soccer Association as a way to expose our players to the best players in CONCACAF and simultaneously expose them to MLS academy coaches."

And with Sochaux coming over, Calderon said: "It also strengthens the tie with Jacques Crevoisier and the the coaching staff at FC Sochaux. You will remember that Jacques was on island in 2006 to conduct a three-day clinic for our coaching fraternity. You will also remember that Jacques was instrumental in several coaches going to France on two separate occasions over the past two years to learn from Academy coaches at FC Sochaux, RC Lens and in both cases the coaching staff at Clairefontaine, the French National Football Training Centre.

"Jacques will be joining the FC Sochaux team as he remains on staff as a consultant and while he is here he will conduct a coaching clinic for our coaches

"Jacques is also a consultant to Arsenal and has in the past been a French National Coach for 10 years and coached Henri, Vieira, Trezequet, and others as youth players at Clairefontaine. He was also at one time the first team coach at Liverpool under Gerard Houillier."

For the past two years the Bermuda Football Foundation (BFF) has hosted the Clyde Best Invitational Youth Football Tournament featuring teams throughout the United States competing against Bermuda's youth players in various age groups. This year the BFA has taken over the responsibility for promoting and organising the tournament.

BFA general secretary David Sabir said: "The original concept is to provide a benchmark for our youth players to compete against the top youth players from our region within the United States. This opportunity is to expose our youth players to a new style of play and type of player they will compete with for spots in university and or college teams. The relationship has grown over that span of time with the United States; therefore we continue to build relationships in every area including the Regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) and the State (ODP)."

l The BFA Technical Director, Derek Broadley and Darrin Lewis, Acting Education Officer for Physical Education & Health left Bermuda this week to attend the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in St. Louis.

Broadley said that when it comes to football events in the US, few can parallel the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Convention. No other event matches the fun, excitement and learning opportunities this annual gathering offers to soccer coaches at all levels of the game.

A record number of coaches have attended the event in the past including Aime Jacquet, Craig Brown and Juergen Klinnsmann.