Bees snap up Pro Touch stars
Published: 19 August, 2010
by STEVE BARNETT
A GROUP of five talented young footballers will take a giant step towards their goal of making it within the professional game when they sign for Brentford.
Fantastic five Afolabi Coker, James Matthews, Christian Forino, Aarel Hubeison-Abie and Dylan Singh have all agreed schoolboy contracts with the League One side.
They will get their first taste at being in front of thousands of fans when they put pen to paper at half time during Brentford’s home match against Rochdale on August 28.
The boys join a long list of players supported by the Pro Touch Soccer Academy (PTSA), an organisation aimed at helping disadvantaged footballers fulfil their ambitions of making a name for themselves within the professional game.
The youngest of the five is James, who lives in Islington and goes to Clerkenwell Parochial Primary School. Despite being just eight years old the centre-back seems focused on making the most of the opportunity. “It’s a dream come true. I’m really excited, hopefully this will be the start of something special,” he said.
Team-mate Aarel, who lives in Swiss Cottage, is just as thrilled about signing for the Bees. The 10-year-old, who goes to Emmanuel Primary School in West Hampstead, said: “I’m so happy. I’m really looking forward to signing the contract.”
PTSA director Ash Rahman is confident that the boys will do well at their new club. “They are being given a fantastic opportunity to fulfil their potential. They all deserve their chance having worked so hard in pre-season and I’m sure that once they’ve settled they will all show just how talented they are.
“This is an extremely exciting time for the academy. We have 14 players signed up to professional clubs and I’m looking forward to seeing how they all get on throughout the season.”
Attacking midfielders Aarel and Christian both put in starring roles for Pro Touch in Denmark this summer where they helped the under-12s finish third in the Dana Cup.
The age-group, which is full of emerging talent, came within touching distance of a place in the final after beating youth teams from Brazil and Germany. Their glorious run, however, was cut short in the semi-finals when they were beaten 7-2 by eventual champions Vake 91 from Georgia.
Tough-tackling defender Afolabi, who unlike the his team-mates is signing a two-year contract at Brentford instead of a one-year deal, also impressed coaches in Denmark as part of the under-15s squad.
In the end fortune didn’t favour the Pro Touch side as they were knocked out on penalties in the final 16.
The Pro Touch Soccer Academy is holding trials on Saturday September 4 at Market Road in Islington for promising players aged eight to 15 years.
For details, visit: www.protouchsocceracademy.com