THE West Cork Academy will face English Premier League club Liverpool in a high-profile friendly on Friday.

Following on from a successful weekend trip to Belfast, which included a notable victory over Rangers FC’s Academy, a combined West Cork Academy Schoolboys U12 and U13 selection will face Premier League giants Liverpool’s Academy this weekend.

Travelling to the UK, West Cork will warm up with a game against a local club on Thursday before lining out against the Anfield club’s rising stars at their world-class Kirkby Academy facilities on Friday evening (5.30pm kick-off).

This is a unique opportunity for West Cork’s emerging talent to go up against one of the English Premier League’s most respected youth set-ups. Getting to play such high-profile opposition is nothing new for the West Cork Academy over recent years.

‘If you look at all the teams our Academy has played in the last four or five years, Liverpool are another big side,’ the West Cork Academy’s David Hall told The Southern Star.

‘Every one of our West Cork Academy teams gets to play high-calibre opposition, like Liverpool, as it is part of their pathway within our structure(s).

‘We are all about developing these boys. What we are trying to do is see where they are at as individuals, as a team, as an academy.

‘So, this is the West Cork Academy assessing ourselves and measuring the health of the academy. We measure ourselves against the best, like Liverpool, to see where we are at.’

Facing talented players in the famous red jersey promises to be as tough a test as the West Cork Academy Schoolboys squad could ask for. It is also the chance of a lifetime to show what West Cork’s players can do in a high-performance environment.

‘One hundred per cent, it is all about experiences for our lads,’ Hall added.

‘One of the things we tell our academy players is that we play three opponents every time we go out onto the pitch. The opposition, the occasion and ourselves. So, playing Liverpool will be all about the occasion and the players' development. Games like these are about mixing that all together.’

West Cork Academy Schoolboys U12/U13 squad: Chris Moynihan (Castlelack), Colin Ronan (Ardfield), Isabella Santos (Castlelack), Paddy Hegarty (Bay Rovers), Rohan Santos (Castlelack), Edward Kingston (Dunmanway Town), Caolan Cleary (Bunratty United, captain), Charlie Beamish (Drinagh Rangers), Ciaran O’Farrell (Dunmanway Town), Eoghan O’Driscoll (Lyre Rovers), Eoin Healy (Dunmanway Town), Gavin Kerr (Castlelack), Gearóid Linehan (Castlelack), Iarlaith Rohan (Clonakilty AFC), James McDonagh (Skibbereen), Morgan Coleman (Bay Rovers), Nicholas Lynch (Castlelack), Rory Harrison (Clonakilty AFC), Rory Murnane (Bay Rovers), Seàn Hamilton (Drinagh Rangers), Sonny Crowley (Lyre Rovers), Michael Sullivan (Beara United).