Midlothian teenager's dream comes true as he plays for Juventus in football tournament

A teenage boy from Midlothian is set to make a dream football trip to Italy next month after he was invited to play at a special tournament hosted by Juventus.

Rio Hamilton-Scott from Rosewell is an avid footballer who eats and sleeps the game, and is currently playing for Dalkeith Thistle. The 13-year-old’s dad got him a week’s training with the Juventus Academy in Dundee in February as a Christmas present due to Rio’s love for the Italian giants.The central midfielder had a fantastic time and was then invited to head to Italy in June to play in the Juventus Club World Cup youth tournament in Turin. The St David’s High School pupil will head to ‘The Old Lady’ with his dad Craig Scott, staying at the Olympic Village in Turin and even playing and training at the club’s Allianz Stadium and academy.

His proud mum Kerri Hamilton explained more about Rio’s dream football trip to the 36-times Italian champions. She said: “He is so excited, when we first told him he didn’t believe us, he said ‘there’s no way!’. He has been a fan of them his whole life and he has had many of their strips growing up.

"We have been trying to get ready to go. Rio is a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, and he’s packed his bag already! He leaves in three weeks’ time so we are all super excited. We had to pay £700 for flights, Juventus give him all the kit he needs and will give him full accommodation for the six-day stay at Olympic Village. His dad is going with him and staying in a hotel. Most of the time will be spent training and playing matches. There is only a few kids from the UK who have been picked to go so it’s pretty amazing.”

Juventus Academy World Cup has become a very important annual event as part of the Juventus Academy project. Allowing thousands of young people from all over the world to enjoy this unique experience. Rio has enjoyed success on the field this year, both with his school and club teams, but Kerri thinks her son’s friend’s are a bit sceptical about his latest success.

She said: "He was scouted by Hibs when he was nine but we thought he was too young to join a big club. He plays for Dalkeith Thistle and they have two more games left to win the cup. And his school won the league, the first time St David’s have done so since Darren Fletcher played for them more than 25 years ago.

"So this Juventus trip rounds off a great year for him. He has had a lot of interest from other teams, obviously we have always targeted the pro youth route, but if anything came out of this Juventus trip then that would be a dream come true. We are so proud of him and very excited to see where this leads. He is a big fan of Juventus so this is amazing. It's a massive world stage for a little boy from Rosewell. He has been telling all of his friends but I’m not sure if they believe him!”