SIXTEEN teams of junior footballers from New Jersey could be crossing the Atlantic to play Island clubs in the inaugural Jersey ‘Squared’ International Football Classic this summer.

The proposal has, not surprisingly, been met with great enthusiasm around the Island’s football fraternity.And although the pilot scheme, to bring around 300 young Americans, plus their coaches, to play their Lloyds TSB Junior League counterparts is experiencing difficulties the man behind the initiative remains positive.American David Hakins (52) said, ‘The response from New Jersey has been extremely positive, although problems have arisen with massive price hikes due to the weakness of the dollar and a great deal of fear and apprehension over the possibility of another airline related terrorist incident.’This has led to a lot of soccer teams that normally travel to Europe cancelling and going to internal destinations like Florida.’But we are making progress and if we have to make modest progress in 2004 that is what we will do.’Mr Hakins, who visited the Island to view facilities and meet with representatives from Tourism and Education, Sport and Culture last September, has since been working together with Sporting Eventualities, the Island-based organisers of the highly-successful Jersey Football Tournament.

Sporting Eventualities director Iain Mackenzie is enthusiastic about the tournament – and the far bigger concept behind this pilot scheme: ‘The football tournament, although big in itself, is really just a “”toe in the water”" for bigger, more diverse visits in 2005.

The possibilities for other links are enormous.’The president of the flybe.

Jersey Football Combination Tim Darwin said: ‘It it were to come off it would certainly be very exciting.

The clubs are very keen on the idea – it would be great for the lads to have the opportunity to play against teams from so far away.’Jon Welsh, the chairman of the Lloyds TSB Junior League, said: ‘There was overwhelming support from the clubs when the idea was proposed.

It would be a great chance for our players, not only to face a different style of football, but to mix with a different culture as well.’The tournament itself would be split into two boys age groups, under-14 and under-16, with Island sides playing New Jersey teams as often as possible, in 35 minutes each-way games, as the event progresses.Full report in today’s JEP.