The club’s international expansion project has launched its own tournament and opened more academies
In the 2023/24 season, Villarreal CF’s international expansion project ‘Villarreal Academy’ scaled even greater heights; with lifelong memories created in the four exclusive programmes, camps, tryouts and tournaments, including the first-ever edition of the Villarreal Academy Cup, not to mention the openings of new academies.
New partner academies:
The 2023/24 season saw the opening of three new official partner academies. First to join the Villarreal Academy family last season was Villarreal Ontario in December 2023, before Villarreal Philippines opened its doors in March 2024. Then in June 2024, Villarreal CF opened its first-ever official partner academy in Dubai. These academies provide unrivalled opportunities for young players and coaches and create a unique pathway to professional football.
Villarreal Academy programmes:
The past season also broke new ground for the four exclusive Villarreal Academy programmes: Player Training Week (PTW), Team Playing Experience (TPE), Coach Development Program (CDP) and Player Development Program (PDP).
First up: the Player Training Week. This programme gives players selected from the club’s official partner academies the chance to live like a professional footballer at Villarreal CF for a week. From daily training sessions with academy teams and video analysis with club coaches to meeting first-team players, this week has all the ingredients for an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Over the course of the campaign, we welcomed players from our partners in Australia, South Korea, India, Uruguay, Mexico City, Kuwait, Israel, Canada, the United States, and more. Also invited for the PTW were players from Debrecen, Hungary, from the club’s ‘CVF Pro’ professional consulting agreement with Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club.
The Team Playing Experience sees us welcome partner academy teams, who spend an action-packed week training and playing friendly matches at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground, and also get to enjoy an exclusive tour of the Estadio de la Cerámica. Last October, Villarreal Alberta brought two teams, including their first-ever group of female players. Overall, more than 300 players came from far and wide for the Player Training Week and Team Playing Experience programmes.
Next up, for the Coach Development Program, coaches from across the globe come to Villarreal to take part in the week-long programme. They are totally immersed in Villarreal’s methodology and see first-hand how Villarreal coaches implement it to develop players and people, both on and off the pitch. Before Christmas we were joined by coaches from Villarreal Malaysia and Villarreal Uruguay. We then hosted Sahile Nkomo from South Africa in February 2024. In that same month, several coaches from Akademia Legii completed the course. From that point, coaches from Brandon United FC, Villarreal Erie, Alchemy IFA, Villarreal Israel, Villarreal Ciudad de México and Villarreal Alberta participated, furthering their coaching experience and knowledge to promote player development at their academies and clubs.
Fourth on the list of exclusive programmes is the Player Development Program. Back in September, 23 players arrived for the 10-month residential program – a truly life-changing experience. These international players were important members of Villarreal CF youth academy teams in a programme designed to accelerate their development, both personally and as up-and-coming football stars.
Camps:
Whilst players and coaches came from around the world to participate in our four exclusive programmes, Villarreal coaches also jetted off across the globe to hold camps for budding young talents. With camps held in the USA, Canada, Thailand, South Korea, South Africa, Uruguay, Philippines, Romania, Latvia and Finland, Villarreal’s unique methodology was consistently reinforced as it reached even further corners of the planet. It’s worth highlighting that one of these camps was an ID Camp to select players for Villarreal Academy’s North America Select Teams, held in Las Vegas in December 2023. These players then competed in tournaments worldwide throughout the remainder of the season representing Villarreal Academy North America.
Tournaments:
Speaking of renowned international football tournaments, the 2024 editions of the Yellow Cup Easter and Yellow Cup Summer were once again a highlight of the calendar. For the Easter tournament, the boys’ and girls’ teams from Villarreal Virginia Academy travelled to Spain to take part. It was a fun-filled week of training, workshops, meet-and-greets and a tour of the Yellows’ home stadium. Then in June, the Estadio de la Cerámica was once again the venue for the Yellow Cup Summer. With 156 teams participating, including Villarreal Sydney Academy, Villarreal Virginia Academy, Villarreal Las Vegas Academy, Villarreal Ciudad de México Academy, Villarreal Montreal Academy, Villarreal Brisbane Academy, Villarreal Kuwait Academy and Villarreal Philippines Academy, this four-day footballing festival created lifelong memories for everyone involved.
The 2023/24 season was rounded off in spectacular fashion, with the first-ever Villarreal Academy Cup! We united our Yellows family from around the world, with partner academies and affiliate clubs taking to the Estadio de la Cerámica pitch. Villarreal Sydney were crowed winners of the U12s tournament, while Villarreal PDP took the U16s title.
Villarreal Academy was launched in 2017 with the aim of sharing the success and pride of our youth academy on a global scale. The 2023/24 season was a direct reflection of that objective. With 25 partner academies and affiliate clubs immersed throughout the year in Villarreal’s unique and innovative methodology, the relationship with each grows stronger each year. The four exclusive programmes, as well as camps, new academies and international tournaments, have once again created unforgettable and life-changing experiences that fuel footballing and personal development.
