Young Stars Shine at Night

Players from Inverness Caledonian Thistle youth teams will be undertaking a 12 hour marathon football session as part of a fundraising drive to raise money to attend a pre-season tour of Austria.

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The under 14, 15, 17 and 19 squads will play from 9pm until 9am starting on December 3. The fundraising event, which is taking place at the Highland Youth Academy in Inverness, is hoping to go some way towards raising the £25,000 required to pay for the trip.

The teams are travelling to Austria in August and will be training and playing games with local teams. The aim of the trip is to increase confidence in the players, expose them to a different culture and attitudes towards football and help foster a strong team spirit amongst the squads. Links between foreign clubs and coaches are also developed.

Ronnie Duncan, football development co-ordinator, said: "The youth teams train hard all year and we are taking them to Austria to enjoy themselves and learn new skills. The players are all putting in a lot of effort to raise the money necessary to go and they are all looking forward to the evening. The late night fives concept is something we are looking to offer on a permanent basis early in the New Year as a means of getting kids off the streets and participating in sport."