Around 4,300 families on the island have been in contact with the club through Villarreal Academy

A productive union with an exciting future. During the 2019/20 season, Villarreal CF have worked successfully with Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation and local football academy Puerto Rico High Performance Soccer Academy to help develop football for youngsters in San Juan.

It couldn’t have gone any better, despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It didn’t even drop off in the last few months where connection with players and local families has been excellent.

Throughout this season, there have been 20 visits to schools in the San Juan area (50 children per school), eight activities in schools in the San Juan area (400 children per school), 1 camp with Marcos Senna (100 players), 2 competitive teams have been created, the U17s and the U11s (40 players), and also 40 players have taken part in development programmes.

A total of around 4,300 families in Puerto Rico have had contact with Villarreal CF through this project.

The experience has left a mark on both the Puerto Ricans and the club staff who have taken part in it, with the Villarreal CF staff always trying to add value to initiatives despite the circumstances with lockdown due to the virus.

From Spain, through the Villarreal Academy programe, an online programme with players and families, to continue with training sessions and distance learning, as well as online training session for local coaches from Puerto Rico. These types of online meetings are continuing to this day.

To see more about the project, watch Villarreal TV’s video on the great experiences in Puerto Rico this season. Unforgettable!