At each staging of the Festival International Espoirs de Toulon, Scout7 present the John Haynes Trophy to the Festival's breakthrough player, named by French professional scouts affiliated to the company.
The annual Toulon Festival is unique in that is brings together both established and developing international youth teams to compete against each other, which in turn allows young players to experience competition against opponents adopting a different, culturally influenced approach to the game.
And by inviting such a diverse array of teams from all over the world to compete, the competition enables European clubs to monitor emerging talent from regions where player information and regular updates is not always widely available.
As a result, in the summer of 2008 the organisers of the Festival devised the John Haynes Trophy in conjunction with Scout7 to recognise the emergence of a stand-out player over the duration of the competition.
The award is named in memory of one of Scout7's co-founders, who tragically passed away early in 2008. Together with Managing Director Lee Jamison and Scout7 France's Jerome Lebatard, Haynes was a strong supporter of the Festival and annually attended the event, initially in an unofficial capacity then latterly as an event partner.
Philippe Revello, the event's Head of External Relations, explains the motives of both organisations in commemorating his memory through the awarding of the trophy:
"John was part of the Toulon family, he was well liked and respected by everyone involved and he quickly captured the mood of the event which makes it special - good football and contrasting cultures, all within a warm family environment.
"We are delighted that his name and legacy will continue through this trophy, which is appropriate because it encompasses a key philosophy shared by the Festival and Scout7 - identifying emerging players and providing a platform to help them fulfil their potential."
The first winner of the award in May 2008 was Cote d'Ivoire midfielder Emmanuel Kouamatien Koné, who has since gone on to represent his country at the Olympic Games and at full senior level in official FIFA World Cup qualification matches.
In addition, he has also featured regularly domestically for his club side, reigning Romanian champions CFR Cluj and in the UEFA Champions League, where he has been involved in matches against Chelsea, AS Roma and Bordeaux.
Following the conclusion of the 2009 competition, Chilean striker Gerson Martinez became the second recipient of the award, after coming off the bench in all five of his side's games and scoring the winning goal in four of them, which included the final against France. That goal secured Chile's first ever major success in an international competition held in Europe at any level.
The winner of the 2010 John Haynes Trophy will be announced in Toulon next June, immediately after the final of the Festival.
