Morecambe Football Club Academy is pleased to announce a partnership with Northern Ireland Football League Championship side Ards FC.
The clubs will work together to provide opportunities for players including two-way pathways, alongside talent recognition camps in Newtownards, with a strong link forming between the two Academies.
There will also be chance for coaches to observe, participate in and learn from training sessions, to further enhance development, as well as joint Academy tournaments in England and Northern Ireland.
Academy Manager Stewart Drummond said: “The Academy are always looking for new links and partnerships to help us spread the brand of Morecambe Football Club and in our search for talented footballers to bring to the Club.
“So we are excited to announce our link to Ards FC from Northern Ireland, who we look forward to working with for the benefit of both clubs.
Over the coming months we will be visiting Ards FC, to further cement our relationship by running soccer camps and talent id events and inviting Ards over to Morecambe to give players new experiences and to work with club staff.
“We hosted Warren Patton (Senior Club Chairman) and senior Ards FC officials at our first-team home fixture against Wigan Athletic earlier this year and have put in place the foundations for a strong relationship between the two clubs.”
Ards FC chairman Warren Patton added: ”We believe this link-up with Morecambe Football Club will be hugely beneficial for both parties. It will provide a pathway into the English game for the club's best young players and allow our Academy to benefit from Morecambe's vast experience.
“This is an exciting project and we're looking forward to working closely with Morecambe FC ".