The Tribune

BUDDING stars on the soccer pitch will have a rare opportunity to showcase their skills for pro scouts at home.

Soccer player Happy Hall and his YESI organisation partnered with the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL Pro League to make the latter a reality.

"Over the next week or so we want to get as much exposure as possible because some young players are going to walk away from this experience with a golden opportunity to play soccer at a higher level," Hall said.

"It is a very unique chance for the kids to get exposure to individuals and organisations high in the professional football hierarchy. My goal is to create an ongoing relationship between the kids, these pro teams and myself. In time, this will create the opportunity for some of the kids to go on exchange programmes to play with these pro youth teams."

All young men between the ages of 16 and 25 are invited to St Paul's Grounds - behind St Paul's Church - for the trials on Saturday, April 28 to be conducted by Cor van Hoeven, the technical director of Dutch Lions FC.

Participants must have passports or documents to travel to the US and a $10 entry fee. Both the Super-20 League and PDL registration is scheduled to begin at 10:30am and the trials are set for 11am to 1pm.