By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

The International Bowl is becoming a tradition. It’s an annual competition pulling in football players under the age of 19 from across dozens of countries.

USA Football assembles its own team to compete against the International Federation of American Football, which is comprised of 64 countries.

This is a place many people look for breakout players, a chance to see the start of a future star.

The fourth annual International Bowl will be held Feb. 5 in Austin, Texas.

And players for United States will have cards coming out on Dec. 18 with the releases of 2012 Upper Deck USA Football.

“It’s a super-limited product with the best football prospects in the country,” Upper Deck wrote in an email.

While some players on the checklist are unknowns to many football fans, many of these guys are some of the best recruits in the country.

However, it also contains several college freshman such as the University of Georgia’s Todd Gurley, who led the Bulldogs with 1,288 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 199 carries in 13 games this year.

The 19-and-under team – many of those playing in the International Bowl – will be featured on autograph and memorabilia subsets in UD’s USA Football.

Past sets include players such as Jaxon Shipley (University of Texas wide receiver) and George Atkinson III (Notre Dame running back).

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

Join Beckett Football’s Dan Hitt and Andrew Tolentino as they rip into a pair of Upper Deck USA Football sets in this latest edition of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Watch and find out …

Upper Deck and USA Football announced an unprecedented partnership today.

According to details on Usafootball.com, this is the first time that the sport’s national governing body for international competition has paired up with a trading card company. As an official sponsor of USA Football, Upper Deck is poised to make a big  impression on America’s growing youth football membership — a prime audience comprised of players (potential collectors) between the ages of six and 14.

Today’s announcement also foretold some near-future hobby impacts, including special edition U.S. Under-19 National Team cards slated for an appearance in 2011 SP Authentic Football. These cards will feature photography from the early-2011 Team USA vs. The World game (featured in the video below) and a selection of game-used jersey swatches.

“Any effort to promote the great game of football is a step in the right direction and the opportunity to capture members of the U.S. Under-19 National Team on trading cards is one we’re very excited about,” said Upper Deck’s vice president of marketing, Jason Masherah.

USA Football’s executive director Scott Hallenbeck added, “Our national team program and Player Academies will benefit from Upper Deck’s industry-leading work and their commitment to youth football for the millions of kids who love to stay fit by playing America’s favorite sport and gain from the game’s team-first values.”

Click here to view the embedded video.