In a video announcement released this morning, head coach Gerry McKeown unveiled the roster of 18 players for US Club Soccer’s 2013 id² National Selection International Tour in advance of the team’s journey to Spain from February 28 to March 11.

Head of Delegation Phil Wright, McKeown and assistant coach Benjamin Ziemer will lead the squad, which consists of boys born in 1999 selected from the id² Program events held in 2012. Seventeen clubs and 11 states are represented on the team.

While in Madrid and Barcelona, the id² National Selection will play matches against youth academy programs from some of the world’s most well-known professional clubs, in addition to conducting daily training sessions and gaining the unique educational and cultural experience of life in another country.

The schedule for this year’s tour will be released soon.

The 2012 edition of the tour included competitive matches against academy teams from FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, as well as attendance at a pair of La Liga matches, one of which brought the chance to see Lionel Messi score four goals in FC Barcelona’s 5-1 victory over Valencia CF at L'Estadi Camp Nou.

• A look back at the 2012 id² NSIT (including video)

“We are very excited to be returning to Spain with another roster of some of the best young players in this country,” said Gerry McKeown, US Club Soccer’s id² Boys’ Program Director. “This trip will be a great opportunity for them to experience different cultures, grow as players and build on the success this program has had during our previous three tours.”

This will mark the fourth straight year for the id² National Selection International Tour, following on the heels of very successful trips to Germany and the Netherlands in 2010, England and Scotland in 2011, and Spain in 2012. Consistent with US Club Soccer’s philosophy that identification and development should be free for players, the organization will fund the trip in conjunction with the strong support of Nike, with no cost to players.

Aided by their time at id² National Selection International Tours and id² Program Training Camps, numerous alums have advanced into U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs. The id² Program is an Olympic Development Program as approved by the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. Soccer Federation.

Once again, fans will be able to follow the id² National Selection International Tour through video journals and other updates via the US Club Soccer website and social media channels:  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and KYCK.

The 2013 id² National Selection International Tour is again being coordinated in conjunction with Premier International Tours.

Head of Delegation:  Phil Wright (Fair Oaks, Calif.)

Head Coach:  Gerry McKeown (Summit, N.J.)

Assistant Coach:  Benjamin Ziemer (Sebastopol, Calif.)

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