Ose Aibangee believes that The Bees invitation to the prestigious IMG Boys Invitational Cup at the IMG Academy in Bradenton Florida shows just how the perception of Brentford’s Academy is changing.

The Youth Team left for the Sunshine State on Monday to take part in the Under-18 Super Group competition which begins this evening.

Other clubs invited to take part in the IMG Invitational Boys Cup include Botofogo of Brazil, Tottenham Hotspur, Chivas and Houston Dynamo.

Speaking to Bees Player before the party of 25 departed for Florida Ose said that being thought of in the same company as some of the teams at the IMG Cup shows where Brentford’s Academy now sits.

Ose added that the ability to fund and organise trips of this nature couldn’t happen if the Academy wasn’t so important to the owner Matthew Benham, Sporting Director Frank McParland and Manager Mark Warburton and that gives him, the staff and the players a great deal of confidence.

“There are three teams from the UK going over there, four teams from America and one from Chile,” said Ose.

“From a perception point of view it stands us in good stead that we are getting invited to prestigious tournaments like the IMG Cup.

“From an Academy point of view it is really positive news.

“This shows that the club are very supportive of the Academy.

“These kind of trips are not easy to arrange, they are not easy to fund and the support that Matthew Benham, the owner, and Frank McParland have given us shows that they are taking Youth Development really seriously.

“That gives me a lot of confidence as it does for everyone else in the Academy.”

This will be the second time in five months that Brentford have used the world-class training facilities at the IMG Academy after the first-team’s pre-season Training Camp in July.

The Bees spent 10 in Florida ahead of their first tilt at the Sky Bet Championship in 21 years and Ose said the reports that came back spoke in glowing terms of the facilities.

With IMG also hosting American Football, Tennis and Athletics facilities Ose believes there is great scope to learn training methods and techniques not only from a different nation but from different sports as well.

“Having spoken to the First-Team staff and the First-Team players they are world-class facilities,” said Ose.

“IMG are renowned for their Football Academy but they also have an American Football Academy, they teach Tennis to a high level as well as many other sports.

“It is going to be a really elite complex and from our point of view it is great not only to be invited to a tournament like this but for us also to be rubbing shoulders with other elite athletes.

“We will learn from other teams.

“There will be different styles and there is no doubt we will learn from how they play and how they set up and how we counteract their play.

“We will also learn from the other sports.

“One of the things that I am keen to do with the other staff is to look at what the other sports do in terms of developing elite performers.

“We will look at the athletes, the weight trainers, the American Footballers and speak to their coaches and medical staff to see what they do to prepare and develop their elite performers for games and for training.”

Brentford begin the Super Ground Under-18 competition at 8pm UK time this evening when they face Stevenage.

Jon De Souza’s side then play Black Rock FC early on Friday morning before their final group game against the IMG Academy Under-18s at 12 30am UK time on Sunday with the finals day later on Sunday.

This trip is the first-time a Brentford Academy team has left mainland Europe and Ose thinks the competition will be a great experience for the boys but may also open their eyes to other potential destinations for them to play in the future.

“It will be a good competition for the boys and it is going to be a good experience,” said Ose.

“The boys and the staff are looking forward to seeing what it is like to play abroad.

“This is the first time we have been out of Europe in terms of competition.

“It is great for the players.

“For a lot of the players, who may not make a professional career in the UK, America is another option for them.

“The way America is going with football it may be an option for them to go out there and play.”

Ose also sees additional benefits of the eight-day trip to the US as he and the coaching staff can get to better know players who they shortly need to make important contract decisions on.

Second-year scholars make up the majority of the group and it is less than six months until Ose and the Academy staff decide to either offer them their first professional contract at Brentford or release them.

Ose believes that as important as footballing ability is in deciding on a player’s future it is also about making sure they are the right type of person who buys into the club’s ethos both on and off the pitch.

For Ose intensive time spent with the players on trips like these proves vital in helping to inform contract decisions.

“It is a different challenge, a different experience and from our point of view it gives us another opportunity to look at the players away from our normal setting at Jersey Road,” said Ose.

“They are going to be away with us for the eight days so we will get to know them as people more than just as players.

“That is really key especially as it is coming up to decision time for a lot of the second-years who are looking at professional contracts.

“When you are in your normal environment at Jersey Road between 9am and 4pm you know them more as Football players.

“I think when you are away on tour with them you know them more as people.

“For players to be offered professional contracts we need to understand them as people.

“It is just as important that we have the right people at this football club, who are going to help push this club on to the next level.

“For the first-years who are going out there as well it gives us another opportunity to have a look at them in a different environment.

“We are also taking two good Under-16s and the good point from our perspective is that they are going out there on merit and that shows we are going in the right direction.

“We didn’t take them along just for the trip we took them out there because they are good enough so that shows that the Academy is moving in the right direction.”

Bees Player subscribers can listen to the full interview here