Derby County Football Academy will once again be hosting the Academy Cup 2008 in conjunction with the Derby Evening Telegraph and sponsored by East Midlands Airport.

The tournament offers local teams the opportunity to visit Moor Farm Training Centre and enjoy its wonderful facilities including first class pitches.

The tournament will take place on Saturday May 3 and Sunday May 4 2008 at Moor Farm Training Centre.

It will be open to teams in the under-seven, under-eight, under-nine and under-ten age groups.

The under-sevens will play on Saturday morning, the under-eights on Saturday afternoon, under-nines on Sunday morning and the under-tens on Sunday afternoon.

There will be 24 teams in each age group.

Each tournament will consist of four groups of six teams giving each team a minimum of five games.

The winning team of each group will progress to the semi-finals which will then be played on a knock-out basis.

Medals will be awarded to the winning team and the runners up in each age group. There will also be a Player of the Tournament in each age group.

Refreshments will be available for purchase in the Bistro.

The entrance fee is £20 per team.

A selection process will take place for teams wishing to participate in the tournament and, initially, we will restrict the teams to one per club in each age group.

Additional teams will be placed on a waiting list.

The tournament has been extremely popular and well supported over the past few years and we are hoping that this year's tournament will be just as successful.

A spokesperson for East Midlands Airport said: "East Midlands Airport is delighted to have been working with Derby County Academy Cup since 2006.

"The airport is committed to supporting young talent in the region and the airport's partnership with Derby County Football Club is an important part of that.

"For three seasons the airport's sponsorship deal has helped thousands of youngsters achieve their dream of being part of the Derby County Academy.

"This grassroots initiative aims to nurture a new generation of Derby County future players, helping the regions best young soccer stars achieve their full potential."

If you wish to enter the tournament, please send the completed application form (available for download here) and payment to Denise Kirby at Derby County Academy, Moor Farm Training Centre, Morley Road, Oakwood, Derby, DE21 4TB.