FOOTBALL teams from former mining communities across Scotland will descend on Alloa next month to take part in a new tournament.

Participating teams will be competing in the Coalfields Community Cup on Sunday, June 23, at the Indodrill Arena to win the chance to represent Scotland and play at the City Football Academy in Manchester.

The annual tournament is organised by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) which supports such local initiatives to improve the health and employment prospects of people in former mining areas.

More than 20 teams from all over Scotland's Coalfield areas will compete in the tournament for boys and girls under 16 and under 15 years of age in the tournament which will kick off at 12pm.

On Sunday, August 4, the winning teams and runners up will represent Scotland to take on England and Wales at CRT's Coalfields Home Internationals at City Football Academy, where Manchester City's first team also train.

Scotland has won the Coalfields Home Internationals for the last two years and will be competing to hold onto the title.

Last year's Home Internationals tournament was hosted by Scotland at Kelty Hearts' ground in Fife.

For the first time this year in the Coalfields Community Cup, youngsters under 11 years of age will also play at Alloa from 10am on the morning of June 23 to give them a chance to get involved and savour the atmosphere.

Residents from the local community are welcome to attend to support the event, along with the friends and families of the players.

For 11 years, The Coalfields Home Football Internationals have been hosted by CRT, bringing mining communities together from Scotland, England and Wales to offer youngsters the chance to compete, make new friends and have fun.

Nicky Wilson, Coalfields Regeneration Trust Scottish trustee, said: "We're really looking forward to this year's Coalfields Community Cup and would like to thank Alloa Athletic FC for hosting us and Marshalls Construction for their sponsorship.

"Youngsters taking part will be excited to know that they are competing for a chance to play for their country at the world-famous City Football Academy in Manchester to try to bring the Coalfields Home Internationals cup back to Scotland for the third year in a row.

"Young people are the future of our communities and are crucial to their regeneration. All the participants in this event are winners in our eyes and it's great to see their friends and families coming out to support them."