Villarreal CF opens the club’s first-ever official partner academy in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, through the Villarreal Academy international expansion project. Villarreal Dubai Academy, in collaboration with Olympic City Sport Clubs & Facilities Management LLC, will officially open its doors on 1st September 2024.
The Villarreal Dubai Academy coaching staff consists of a technical director, four academy coaches, one goalkeeper coach, one physiotherapist and one fitness coach to oversee teams starting from U6 up to U23. All teams participate in the DOFA league, the biggest youth academy league in Dubai, supervised by the UAE Football Association & Dubai Sports Council.
Villarreal Dubai Academy will provide unrivalled opportunities for young footballers in Dubai and surrounding areas by working hand in hand with Villarreal CF to implement the Yellows’ innovative methodology for the development of its players and coaches. Selected players from Villarreal Dubai Academy will have the chance to visit Villarreal CF in Spain to take part in the club’s programmes, such as the Player Training Week (PTW) and Team Playing Experience (TPE), in which they train with or play against Villarreal’s youth teams, respectively.
Villarreal Dubai Academy director, Mr. Amr Zakaria, believes the partnership with Villarreal CF will make the difference: “Partnering with Villarreal CF will definitely help us achieve sustainability along with commercial success. From a technical perspective, Villarreal Academy has had great success in the last decade by partnering with academies and sports organisations in many regions of the world and in almost all continents. We are confident that this partnership will give us tremendous weight and stability that will help us to achieve our commercial and technical goals in a very competitive market like Dubai.”
Mr. Zakaria elaborated on the goals for Villarreal Dubai Academy: “In the short term, we aim to assure maximum regsitration for the Villarreal Dubai Academy for the 2024/25 season to sustain a successful programme that includes sufficient number of players who will be our marketing and technical ambassadors within Dubai communities. Regarding long-term goals, we aspire to offer our players a well-structured pathway to pursue their football journey while being offered professional football programmes that will help them to improve their skills of the game to optimal levels. We also aim to strengthen our coaching staff with a close approach to Villarreal CF methodology and coaching education to create a professional atmosphere serving everyone involved.”
Lastly, Mr. Zakaria highlighted the opportunities Villarreal Dubai Academy will provide: “We offer a unique pathway to professional football, applying the Villarreal training methodology to help in the development and improvement of our players in all areas of the game. Not to mention great exposure while participating in camps and training programmes held at the club in Spain.”
In addition to the newly founded Villarreal Dubai Academy, Villarreal CF already has a number of official partner academies all over the world in countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines and many, all through the club’s Villarreal Academy international expansion project.