Stoke City FC, the Austin Aztex's affiliated club in the English Premier League, is sending its top U18 Academy team to Austin in August for eight days of training and exhibition games. The team is scheduled to arrive in Austin on August 13 and will spend a week in the city. The team will play “friendlies” against Rayados of Monterrey, Mexico and two Lonestars Soccer Club teams.

“This is the kind of youth team trip that we envisioned when we put together our affiliation with Stoke City,” Mr. Rawlins said. “I hope that next year we can send a representative youth team from Austin over to Stoke, so kids from here can experience the professional soccer environment in England. We are also looking forward to hosting Stoke’s first team players and staff in May of next year.”

In addition to presiding over the Aztex, Mr. Rawlins sits on the Stoke City FC Board and is part of the team’s ownership group. Stoke City will open its season in the EPL with an away contest against Bolton on August 16.

The trip to Texas was planned in conjunction with Austin’s Lonestar Soccer Club, the preeminent youth development program here and one of roughly 40 clubs in the US to be designated as a Nike Premier Club. It is anticipated that the Stoke City U18s will be training at the Lonestar’s primary training facility, Town and Country Sports Complex, in northwest Austin.

See the game schedule.

8/6/08