The Birkirkara FC Youth Nursery Under-17 squad was in Valencia for six-day training camp some weeks ago.

The club’s official website, birkirkarafc.com, reported that the squad was engaged in five training sessions in all, the most busy day being that of Friday 29 October, with two training sessions.

The session held on Sunday 31 October in the morning, at the Valencia training grounds, was carried out under the guidance of Valencia’s Youth Academy coach Juan Carlos Magro. The latter showed a lot of enthusiasm in leading the Maltese boys’ training session. Once the session was over, he took the Birkirkara players and delegates around the premises explaining what goes on day in day out.

The Stripes were involved in two friendly matches, with the first being won with a resounding 8-0 scoreline against a local team called Canet d’En Berenguer. The second game was against a higher profile youth academy called San Jose’, based in Valencia’s centre. This academy avails itself of top class facilities and is run in the most professional way. Birkirkara managed a 1-1 draw against this side, a very positive result considering the huge gap in resources.

There was also plenty of recreational time for the boys, as the whole contingent had the opportunity to visit the city centre on more than one occasion, with shopping malls and entertainment complexes attracting everyone’s interest.

The highlight, though, was the Valencia versus Real Zaragoza match from the Spanish Primera Liga at the Mestalla Stadium. Although the match never reached the levels one would have expected, the atmosphere was magnificent.

The website added that this was a great experience for the whole clan, one which would not be the last as long as Birkirkara FC Youth Nursery is concerned.