19-year-old winger Tiago Cardoso has signed for semi-pro club AFC Darwen from scouts after attending one of our trials back in October.

Born in Portugal, Tiago moved to the UK and is determined to fulfil his dream of being a footballer, attending more than one event with our company.

After speaking with Tiago he told us: “I heard about UK Football Trials from a friend. I attended for the first time but was unfortunately not scouted. I really enjoyed it though so I decided to come back again, which was good as I found the second time easier as I knew what I had to do to be scouted.”

Tiago’s determination paid off with AFC Darwen making contact and inviting him to a trial.

He explained: “I used to play for an academy and I had a trial for another team but this was back in Portugal. This was my first football experience in the UK, so I am extremely happy to have been scouted by Darwen.”

As trials can be so diverse, we asked Tiago to tell us what his consisted of.

He revealed: “The first time I went to Darwen, we did some training, some drills and then played a match. The training session was tough but I enjoyed it.

"Everything was very good and everyone welcomed me which was nice. The players were very good and the team were to a high standard on the whole.

“My overall experience with Darwen has been fantastic. I’m really enjoying it here and I hope to play for the first team soon.

“The facilities are brilliant. The pitch on which we train is very good. I’ve not visited the stadium yet but the training centre is amazing. The manager Simon is a very good coach, if you make a mistake, he will critique what you did and give you feedback. He is always helping out and giving advice.”

Tiago seems to be adapting and impressing so far at AFC Darwen. We would like to wish him the best of luck and hope that he can continue to grow and improve as a playeras he bids to break into the first team squad.