Vasco da Gama have accepted an invitation to compete at the fourteenth International Under-11 Football Tournament of the Azores next month.

The invitation follows the club’s successful participation at the tournament last year and the creation of the Vasco youth programme.

The tournament is again being hosted by Azorean club, Clube União Micaelense, in Ponta Delgada, Azores, from April 9 to 11.

This year, 24 teams will take part from countries including the Azores, Madeira, Portugal, Germany, Cape Verde, Brazil and the United States.

Vasco’s team travelling to the Azores includes Cameron Adkins, Cruz DeSilva, Ethan Hassell, Kieran Foster, Mateus Rocha, Justin Franco, Sinai Simons, Tucker Curtis, Logan Jones, Logan Chadwick, Jai Simmons and Shammai Smith.

The officials will include Germano Botelho, the Vasco youth programme director, coaches Ricardo Ponte, Nick Jones and Enio Vieira.

Also travelling with the team is medic Sylvans Nawab, with club president Paul Franco and vice-president Richard Ambrosio heading the delegation.

“Vasco da Gama club is very pleased for this second invitation to take part in Clube União Micaelense’s tournament,” Franco said.

“This will be a great experience for our young players, many of whom will get to know the Azores for the first time. Lots of different teams from around the world will be there.

“This tournament also represents a commitment from Vasco to help develop youth football in Bermuda. We returned to senior football following an almost 20-year absence; we hosted former Portuguese international footballer, Pauleta, in 2018; we partnered with the Bermuda Football Association to host a football match between Bermuda and a São Miguel select team; and we created the first multi-team youth programme in the Club’s history.

“I look forward to watching some exciting football and to seeing our young men experiencing other cultures.”

Botelho added: “We are very excited to have been invited by Clube União Micaelense to come back to the tournament. The young footballers who took part last year had an experience of a lifetime, and we expect this year’s delegation to also have a blast.

“I am especially pleased for this invitation following the creation of the Vasco youth programme at the start of this football season. We take the invitation as a vote of confidence in our programme and look forward to the opportunity to play football with top quality teams from around the world.”

During their time in the Azores, the team will be received by the president of the Azores at the Sant’Anna Palace and by the Mayor of Ponta Delgada at City Hall.

They will also have the opportunity to explore the Azorean capital, visit the picturesque Lagoa das Sete Cidades and marvel at the boiling fumaroles in the still volcanically active village of Furnas. For many of the young players, it will be their first visit to Portuguese archipelago.

Clube União Micaelense is the oldest sports club in the Azores, having been founded in 1911. The club has been organising a youth football tournament now for 14 years.

They play their home matches at the Jâcome Correia Municipal Stadium in Ponta Delgada, which is where the tournament will be held.

Clube União Micaelense’s youth development programme is widely recognised, and it was recently certified by the Portuguese Football Federation with a very high four-star rating.