A GROUP of west Wiltshire youngsters will play against a team from the European champions AC Milan as part of an international tournament in Bulgaria next week.

The nine boys will join nine players from the St Andrews Academy in Malta to form a squad for a four-day tournament that will include teams from AC Milan, Fenerbache, Levski Sofia, CSKA Moscow and Red Star Belgrade.

The trip is the first joint venture undertaken by the Maltese football academy and the UK, with the academy due to set up the first of its English subsidiaries this August in Wiltshire.

The Wiltshire boys come from the under 14s teams at Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge Town and Shaw and Whitley together with one from Trowbridge Town under 13s and one Trowbridge Town under 12s.

They were members of a squad that travelled to Malta in 2003 when they were selected from over 30 players during a series of friendly matches by a panel of five qualified coaches from Malta and the UK.

The St Andrews Academy, based in Malta, works in partnership with the Bobby Charlton Soccer School and has over 1,000 members.

It was set up by Paul Falzon, who used to live in Bradford on Avon.

His aim now is to get a St Andrews Academy started in Wiltshire to attract players from local clubs for one off coaching courses and give the players a chance to travel with the academy on tours to Malta, USA, Northern Spain and elsewhere.

They also intend to set up a senior side to play in one of the local leagues next season.

Vernon Osbourne, a leading figure in the setting up of the Wiltshire-based academy, believes it is an exciting opportunity for young footballers.

He said: "We will have fully qualified coaches from the Bobby Charlton Soccer School coming down to run it.

"We have no intention of stealing youngsters from local clubs. We will be working with them and after our courses the players will return to their clubs.

"While the academy is open to all abilities we intend to help players become as good as they can be and who knows, maybe help them make a career in the game."

The academy is in the process of becoming affiliated to the Wiltshire FA and Osborne has no doubt it can have the same success as it has in Malta.

He said: "It will provide the players with some great opportunities. The lads who are going out to Bulgaria next week will be playing against some future stars.

"At the moment we will just be aiming it at youngsters from the west Wiltshire area and Bath, but hopefully we will be able to extend it to the whole of Wiltshire and then one day set up different branches in other areas.

"We have been working hard on the project for the last few months before going public about it but we are sure it will be a popular idea."

The St Andrew's Academy is due to go live in the UK in August and as a lead up 100 players from the Maltese academy will come to Wiltshire in July to play a series of matches.

Anyone wishing to know more about the St Andrew's academy in the UK, including any coaches who wish their sides to play against the Maltese when they visit, should contact Osborne on 01225 868383.