Milo One Day tournament benefits all - KSAFA president

Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) President Wayne Shaw says the parish's young footballers are eagerly awaiting the second staging of the Nestle Milo One Day football tournament set for the Football Factory on September 9. After this event, five players will be selected to travel to the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, for a four-day training camp.

Shaw said 16 teams will contest the tournament. These are the top three teams from each four zones in the KSAFA U13 league, while teams from St Catherine, St Ann, Manchester and Montego Bay will make up the remaining four spots.

"The five players will be selected from those teams. Last year, we had two teams from Montego Bay and it was good, so we want to keep it that way. We don't want just teams from KSAFA to benefit," Shaw told The Gleaner.

The six-a-side competition will be observed by a five-member KSAFA selection panel led by KSAFA competitions chairman Marc Williams. They will select the five best footballers who will travel to Spain, and Shaw said that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local players.

"We expect a good day of football," he said. "At the end of the day, the five players will be chosen to go to Barcelona. It is something any young footballer would look forward to and enjoy."

The four-year deal signed between Nestle Milo and FC Barcelona afford fans the opportunity to visit the famous Spanish club's headquarters and training facilities, and receive coaching from Barcelona coaches in a series of sports clinics.

"For the next two years, we will be doing this (sending players to the club), and it's a continuation to help youth development in Jamaica, not just in KSAFA," he said.

The champions will take home $70,000; second place will get $60,000; third place, $50,000; and fourth place, $40,000.