7 Elite Academy’s Player Pathway partners AFC Liverpool Under-18s will kick off their FA Youth Cup campaign away to Cheadle Town on August 16th (7pm).

The Reds youngsters, who are trained and run by staff from 7 Elite Academy, will travel to Cheadle’s Park Road stadium (SK8 2AN) for the Extra Preliminary Round encounter.

On offer for the winners is a home tie against Clitheroe in the Preliminary Round at the start of September.

AFC Liverpool’s record in the world’s best-known youth football competition includes a famous win against Wrexham on the way to a final qualifying round spot just two seasons ago.

And they will be looking to go one better this year, starting with next week’s trip to Cheadle.

Sam D’Auvin, Coach of AFC Liverpool Under-18s, said: “Our new team have worked hard through a rigorous trial process and have shown through the course of pre-season that they have the potential to do well in this years FA Youth Cup.

“Dan Friend and I have been introducing our tactical messages over the last couple of weeks and the lads are ready for our first competitive game of the season.

“This years squad is a healthy mix of last season’s Under-18s, Under-16s and new recruits brought in to 7 Elite Academy.

“Already it’s clear that our lads have the mentality and ability to do well this season and it will be great to see how we do against a Cheadle side who last season beat Pilkington in this round last season, earning themselves an away trip to Macclesfield in the Preliminary round proper.

“This will be a great introduction to competitive football for our lads.”

7 Elite Academy also coaches and runs AFC Liverpool’s Under-21s side, as part of a Player Pathway partnership that includes regular playing and education tours to Europe and the United States.

Anthony Godfrey, 7 Elite Academy Global Director, said: “We have seen a lot of players graduate from our Under-18s programme into the Under-21s, while others have taken up college and academy places in the United States,

“That means this year’s team is quite new, which makes it an exciting challenge for Sam and the rest of our coaching team. Playing in the FA Youth Cup is the best way to hit the ground running.

“I have heard very good things from Sam about the Under-18s so far, but the acid test will be against a hard-working team like Cheadle. This game will show how far the players have progressed so far.”