BARNSLEY FC Community Trust shadow scholarship player Hisham Awadh has been named in the Yemen squad to participate in this month’s under-20 Asia Cup in China.

Hisham had travelled to join up with the initial training camp in Qatar in January and has impressed coaching staff and national team selectors with his efforts in training and friendly games, earning himself a place in the 23-man squad to travel on to China.

Yemen will face Iran, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia in Group C of the competition, with Hisham hoping to play a part in helping his country qualify to the knockout stages of the competition, where they could then face South Korea, Japan, Syria or Thailand.

Josh Reed, football lead at the trust, said: “We are extremely proud of Hisham for not only earning the opportunity to attend the training camp, but also for then taking his chance with both hands and earning himself a well deserved spot in the final squad.

“Everyone here on programme wishes Hisham all the best and will be watching along closely to support and follow Yemen and Hisham’s progress.”

Head of education Sarah Garside added: “We are all incredibly proud of Hisham and his achievement. We wish him all the best throughout the tournament and know he will represent the trust and programme well in his time on international duty.

“We look forward to welcoming Hisham back to continue his time on programme with us after the tournament concludes.”