Former Tigers FC, Great Yarmouth Town (England), and Kings Lynn Town (England) footballer Marion Dawids remains hopeful that some young Namibian players will make their way into top professional clubs through his contacts.Dawids, who is based in the United Kingdom, invited young Namibian players to compete in a six-a-side tournament against some of the elite professional clubs.The players, known to Namibian Sun only by their first names, spent time in England playing against elite clubs.The team consisting of nine under-13 players travelled to the UK and represented Mario’s academy in the tournament.Micah, Francis, Johannes, Uandje, Justin, Alexander, Martinico, Isaiah and Vincent were the players representing Mario Dawids.The team competed in a tournament known as the YSE Champions Cup.“These guys came upon my invitation and had the time of their lives playing against some of the bigger clubs in world football.“The team did well even though we only reached the quarterfinals of the competition that took place in London.“Most of the players were younger than 11, while only three players were more senior than the others.“One has to say we did extremely well given that we played against clubs like Barcelona, Hanover, AZ from Holland and many other teams from grassroots here in England,” Dawids said.As a former footballer himself who played in England’s non-league tier, Dawids said he was impressed with the way the Namibian team played.He added that many of the teams that were part of the seven-a-side tournament were equally impressed and could be scouting for one or two Namibians.“It is still early to say that it is a done deal, but the bigger clubs present at the tournament were impressed with then players.“There could be a potential interest given that our players really played well even if they were younger than most of the other players at the tournament,” Dawids noted.Grateful to parents and coachThe former footballer expressed gratitude towards the parents that made the event possible.He also lauded the coach of the players, Enrico Tjiramba, who helped him with the team selection.“My gratitude goes out to the parents of this players because they had to dig deep in their pockets to ensure that the players go the opportunity to travel.I also want to thank coach Enrico Tjiramba who was part of the great journey.“Lastly, I have to thank the players that came to compete in this tournament.“I have known most of these boys because they used to play with my son and seeing them all grown and ready to be top professionals was something amazing for me.”More to comeDawids insist that he will continue trying to create an opportunity for many young Namibians who are aspiring to become international footballers.He believe that young Namibians could become top exports to big-spending clubs if they remain focused and disciplined.“I spend most of my time playing in non-league football where players like Chris Smalling and Jamie Vardy used to play.“I have managed to build some connections over here and I just want to make the dreams of many young players a reality.“There will be bigger tournaments and for sure, this was not the last time many of this players will be in England,” he said.