This weekend the Dons U14 squad will travel to the Netherlands, supported generously by Zenith Energy, to participate in the highly regarded BOAL tournament.

Having previously featured in the tournament on two occasions, and with the likes of Youth Academy graduate Calvin Ramsay participating in former years, the squad will face a host of well-known opposition teams with Club Brugge, Borussia Dortmund and AZ Alkmaar also taking part.

The squad, which will consist of up to eleven players born in 2009 and five born in 2010, will likely be one of the youngest participating in the tournament which further highlights the Club’s belief in promoting its younger players.

AFC Youth Academy Director, Gavin Levey, who will be travelling with the squad is eagerly anticipating an exciting tournament.

He said: “As a Club we really value the experience of participating in these European tournaments. I feel we are maturing as an Academy and are now competing at the top end of these tournaments more regularly.

“The U14s, coached by Scott Duncan and former Dons player Fraser Fyvie, are a relatively young player group and not only will they learn important skills in terms of how the conduct themselves whilst participating in overseas tournaments, but they will also learn the importance of representing the Club and will be provided with a different test in terms of the opposition players they will face.

“This trip is the latest in a number of European tournaments which an AFC Youth Academy team has participated in, all of which have formed an integral part of a very busy and successful summer schedule for us. We’re very grateful for the support Martin Booth and Chris Collie at Zenith Energy have shown to help enable this latest trip to the Netherlands and for his wider encouragement of the AFC Youth Academy.

Martin Booth, Managing Director of Zenith added: “We are delighted to support the Youth Academy players as they prepare to take part in the BOAL tournament. At Zenith, we believe people are our most important asset, so the opportunity to support the development of young AFC players made total sense and we are proud to do this.”