ENGLAND PREMIER LEAGUE Club, Sunderland AFC is eagerly awaiting the arrival of six Caribbean
Under-20 footballers who will be spending a week at the Premier League club's Academy of
Light, next month.

Head coach of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics, John Barnes, will name the six footballers, who have been selected at a press conference here today. They also will be addressed by the Caribbean Football Union's president, Jack Warner and Digicel Group chief executive officer, Colm Delves.

Three Barbadians, Brett Carrington, David Castagne and Shawn King, are among the players short-listed for the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to England for a football trial.

Speaking from Sunderland, club chairman and former Irish International star, Niall Quinn, said it would be a great opportunity for young footballers in the Caribbean to have a chance to experience life at a Premier League Academy.

"The six players chosen from the clinics will work with the youth team at Sunderland and see what is needed in order to try and make their dream of playing in the English Premier League a reality
in the future," Quinn said.

Sunderland Academy manager, Ged McNamee, also noted that given the reports of the high standard of play during the clinics, the club was looking forward to meeting the players and seeing them perform in England.

"Being involved in the Digicel Kick Start football clinic has also helped us to strengthen our Caribbean connections that we have been building over the past number of years through players like Kenwyne Jones, Carlos Edwards and Dwight Yorke," he said.

According to Barnes, the former outstanding Liverpool and England left winger, the level of talent at each of the eight Digicel clinics far exceeded original expectations with strong contenders in all eight countries where they were held.

The Digicel clinics were conducted in Guyana, Haiti, Barbados, St. Kitts, Antigua & Barbuda, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.