Atlanta United will be sending youth players from Georgia to represent them at Major League Soccer's 2nd annual U-12 small sided tournament at the Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas.

The tournament will take place March 21-26 and last year's inaugural format consisted of teams competing in two 30-minute 7-v-7 competitions with a championship match between the two team that finish at the top of their respective groups.

"It's an exciting opportunity to be invited by MLS to participate and showcase youth talent from Georgia," an Atlanta United spokesperson told Dirty South Soccer.

A tournament like this gives MLS and Atlanta United a great chance to identify talented and skillful youth players through small-sided games. It gives both clubs and league an excellent opportunity to guide technical and tactical understanding of the game at an early age.

This will also be the first time Atlanta United send an official AUFC team to an MLS sanctioned tournament. President Darren Eales and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra have stressed the importance of having a strong youth academy for the long term future of Atlanta United, and this seems to be the first step to establishing a strong Home Grown foundation.