Brendan Rodgers will send two young Liverpool teams to his homeland this summer after throwing his support behind the Milk Cup.
The prestigious international youth tournament in Northern Ireland attracts the best talent from across the globe and the Reds boss believes it's the perfect stage for the club's Academy youngsters to continue their development.
Liverpool have a proud history with the Milk Cup, which is now in its 31st year, having won it in 1988 when a young Steve McManaman scored a hat-trick for Steve Heighway's side in the final triumph over Motherwell.
However, this summer will be the first time for two decades that the Reds have competed in the premier (17 years and under) section.
They have also entered a side in the junior (15 years and under) competition.
The action gets underway on July 29 and Rodgers is fully committed to ensuring Liverpool are once again a permanent fixture in the competition.
Rodgers, who played in the competition himself when he was a teenager with Ballymena in the late 1980s, recently travelled to Belfast with Raheem Sterling to perform the draw.
"Youth football is about experiences and the more good experiences you can get, the better you become," Rodgers told the ECHO.
"The Milk Cup is a great breeding ground for young talent and players enjoy being part of it. It is one of the best experiences you will ever have in your life as a young footballer.
"It's been going 31 years and most of the top players throughout the world have played in it.
"Going back years ago to when I played there, Liverpool were there and were a great draw, attracting big crowds.
"We have a huge support both in the north and the south so it's going to be great for the Irish people to see the talent we've got here coming through.
"Wherever you go in the world, players will tell you about the Milk Cup.
"Daniel Agger played in it for Denmark and absolutely loved it.
"Our young players will be going there and playing against top teams like the World Club champions Corinthians.
"It's a really good tournament and I'm really proud that we're associated with it."
Milk Cup chairman Victor Leonard admits it's a huge boost to the competition to have Liverpool back involved.
He said: "We're delighted that Liverpool will be bringing two teams over this summer.
" The club has massive support in Ireland.
"We had a great rapport with Liverpool going back many years. Tom Saunders was a good friend of mine and he would come over every year.
"In the late 1980s Bob Paisley, who was a director at the time, accompanied the Liverpool youngsters here for three consecutive years. The likes of Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler played in it.
"Rather than go on the first-team's pre-season tour, Bob would rather come here. He fell in love with the tournament and would stay for the full week.
"We were always determined to try to get Liverpool back involved and having played in it himself Brendan knows exactly what the Milk Cup has to offer.
"Brendan is very passionate about youth development and we've seen that with the opportunities he has given to youngsters during his first season at Anfield."
Source: Liverpool Echo
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