15-year-old Kevin Dos Santos Soares impressed at our West London event back in August and was subsequently scouted by Premier League side Crystal Palace!

We caught up with Kevin’s mother to get a better understanding of his footballing background and to understand why he chose to attend our event and how his trial with Palace went.

First of all, congratulations on Kevin’s brilliant trial with UK Football Trials and being scouted by Crystal Palace! He is obviously a talented player, could you please tell us his football history?

“So from 2015-17 Kevin played for Frampton Rangers (Sunday League), in 2016 he was also playing for Bristol Inner City Academy, then from 2017-18 he played for Bristol Rovers Supporters (Sunday League) an now he is playing for AEK BOCO (Sunday League).”

“During his time at AEK BOCO, the time have won the league twice and his personal awards with Bristol Inner City Academy include both most improved player 2018 and manager’s player of the year 2019.”

Wow that’s a great achievement, Kevin was clearly performing very well for his grassroots teams! So what was the reason he decided to come to our trial? 

“The reason is probably there are a lot of great players in the region. So he decided to join UK Football Trials to show his talent and to see if there are any opportunities for him. He just needed a chance.”

So how did Kevin find the trial with Crystal Palace and how did he find it trialling for such a big club?

“Kevin was offered a game by Crystal Palace. The team was very good and the coaches were very kind. Kevin felt so privileged to play for the team. Overall it was a very enjoyable day.”

That’s fantastic! Kevin sounds like he is making the most of this brilliant opportunity! How has it been left with Crystal Palace? Has he received any feedback or has any decisions been made?

“The coaches were very impressed with how Kevin plays; the skill, the passing accuracy and ball control were very good.”

That’s great! As someone who has gone from grassroots to trialling with a Championship club in such a short timeframe, what advice would Kevin give to other players who think they have the talent but need an opportunity to get scouted?

“Kevin’s advice is keep working hard, never give up and always have a positive mind-set. If you have the talent and attend UK Football Trials’ event, you definitely have a chance to be seen.”

Once again, everyone at UK Football Trials would like to firstly congratulate Kevin on his great success at both our trial and with Crystal Palace, and secondly, we would like to wish him the best of luck in the future.