Oxford United’s under 19s are currently in Collecchio, Italy, as they prepare for the new season on a cultural and football exchange trip funded by the LFE (League Football Education Organisation).
The Academy are staying near Parma and having arrived on Sunday have had two days of training ahead of their first game of the trip against the Italian International Academy.
The team hope for a strong start to their Italian tour, following a 6-3 victory against Aston Villa in their last pre-season game.
Academy coach Chris Hackett said:
“It’s a great experience for the lads, we’ve been out here for a few days now and we’re working hard; we’re excited to start playing games. The opportunity to explore the area in our downtime will strengthen the bonds in the squad and hopefully create lifelong memories for the young players.”
The Academy will be missing a prominent player on their trip, as Chris explained:
“One player that hasn’t joined us is Gatlin O’Donkor, he’s just signed his first professional contract with the team so he wasn’t able to come. He’s a great lad and he’s got a bright future ahead of him. We’re all really proud of him.”
The scholars will be playing three more games after the International Academy, before returning to Oxford on August 12th to begin action in the Youth Alliance League, where they finished in fourth place last season.
