1. FC Union Berlin will take part in the first Baltic Sea Cup, a tournament for players under the age of 21 with three over-aged players allowed to compete.

Union will take on Danish giants FC Copenhagen on August 28 (15:00) away from home, with Aalborg AK scheduled for September 18 at 12:00 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. The tournament continues with Halmstads BK at home on October 3 at 12:00 with the next away clash against Odense BK in November.

Our home games against Aalborg and Halmstads will be held at the Alte Försterei and admission is free of charge. Pogon Szczecin and Hertha BSC will compete in the Baltic Sea Cup but won’t play Union Berlin.

The Union squad will be made up of players from the U19 and U21 age groups and will feature a couple of over-aged professionals from the first-team. Sebastian Bönig, the club’s assistant coach, is responsible for bridging the connection between the youth academy and the first-team squad. Bönig’s number two is U19 head coach Willi Weiße.

"Bounce games are a way to get an assessment of the players and give us some game time. Another attractive option is such a competition like this, which is also international in scope. We are very interested in introducing young players to the first team and we are convinced the Baltic Sea Cup is a good instrument for this," said Oliver Ruhnert, director for professional football at 1. FC Union Berlin.

"Competitive tests are an important part of the transition from youth football to men's football, so we are very happy that this came about. For the transition between youth teams to the first team, this is a great opportunity, which we'll happily get involved with," added Lutz Munack, director for youth and amateur football.