Nico Rosamilia, John Tolkin and Jason Pereira from the U13 Ironbound Fever were selected by NextGen USA for the 2002 Regional Select Squad that recently traveled to the UK to play 4 matches against top professional academies.  The team was chosen after months of tryouts and training sessions and comprised of boys on the East Coast from Connecticut down to North Carolina. 

The trip included stadium tours of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea as well as seeing two professional matches: Brentford FC vs. Nottingham Forest & Arsenal vs. Burnley.  The team also spent 2 days at St. Georges Park, home of the England National Team for 2 days of training and recovery with the training staff at St. Georges Park. 

The 2002 squad played 4 matches on the trip over 8 days against professional clubs Reading FC, Brentford FC, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool FC.  The team went 2-2 on the trip with a 3-2 loss to West Bromwich and a 3-0 loss to Brentford.  The 2002 team opened the trip by beating Reading 4-3 and ended the trip with a 2-1 win over Liverpool.  John, Jason and Nico started every match and were major contributors to the team’s success.