Southampton Football Club will launch a Club Partnership Programme in the USA and Canada this summer.
Having developed domestic talent such as Gareth Bale, James Ward-Prowse, Theo Walcott, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain through the Saints Academy, the club is now planning to partner with North American teams to help players and coaches on the other side of the Atlantic reach their potential.
A delegation of staff from the Saints’ Football Development & Support Centre attended the 2016 NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Convention in Baltimore last month to begin the process of signing up American clubs to the scheme.
Clubs that join the partnership model will be given access to the Southampton’s coaching curriculum and will benefit from support and mentoring from the staff who have built and maintain Saints’ reputation as one of the most prolific producers of playing talent in world football.
Southampton will host its first annual coaches’ conference in the United States this August. The three-day event will facilitate the development of coaching knowledge through workshops, seminars, demonstrations presented and facilitated by staff from the Football Development & Support Centre. A UK-based conference is slated for the following year.
In April 2017, the club will host the inaugural Southampton Cup – an eight-day youth tournament involving boys’ and girls’ teams from across the globe, with invites extended to those clubs signed up to the North American partnership scheme.
Chairman Ralph Krueger said: “We’re delighted to be extending The Southampton Way to North America in 2016.
“Over the past two years, we have received an incredibly high volume of interest from clubs in North America who want to be part of The Southampton Way.
“We have listened to the needs of clubs and can now offer a club partnership model that ensures the leading staff from our Football Development & Support Centre can contribute to the advancement of soccer in North America.”
Executive Director of Football Les Reed added: “We look forward to developing new partnerships and sharing the Southampton Way with partner clubs and coaches.
“We’re committed to offering a range of opportunities that ensures Southampton Football Club’s Football Development & Support Centre can directly influence and support the development of coaches in both the USA and Canada.”
For more information on how to sign up to the Club Partnership Programme, please contact Global Development Manger Matthew Sanger by clicking here.
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