Different academies from the Villarreal Academy project get to enjoy the Yellows’ methodology up close once more
Visits from the Villarreal’s international academies have returned to Vila-real, full of excitement and interest to learn from the Yellows first hand. The different academies from across the world, that form part of the Villarreal Academy project, have, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, started to visit the Villarreal CF Training Ground, where they learn from coaches from the Yellows Academy. Now, with the return of commercial flights to and from the United States, where many of the academies are, coaches and players from around the world are able to experience this magnificent experience in Vila-real.
Villarreal has 15 international academies (Virginia, Nebraska, Force, New York, North Texas, Las Vegas, Houston, Indiana, Montreal, Ciudad de México, Sydney, Melbourne, Krasnodar, Korea and Israel), and four affiliated clubs abroad (Kashima Academy in Japan, ADIUR in Argentina, FC Santa Coloma in Andorra and JMP Soccer School in Bolivia). Since the start of September, academies from Israel, Houston, Las Vegas, Montreal and Korea have visited, with Indiana heading over soon, and Sydney, Nebraska, New York and Virginia set to visit in 2022.
While visiting Vila-real, Villarreal Las Vegas director Jordan Greenway said: “Since we’ve joined the club, they made us feel part of the family. You can tell that it’s a people’s club. Every club says they’re different, but this one really is.”
He added that: “Villarreal helps us with everything, with coaching, with social media and with other areas of the business. We’re proud to wear their badge in Las Vegas.” All of this help from the Submarine has an objective and Greenway is clear of that: “As youngsters, we all dreamed of being professional footballers, and we try and help the kids there to fulfil their dreams.”
Jennifer Coronel, one of the Villarreal Houston directors, underlines that “Villarreal offers what all of the families and children are looking for in Houston,” and, according to her: “We’re a small academy, in the sense that we know all of the children and their parents, but we’re clear what our vision is. It’s to continue to grow, while we’re still a competitive club at the same time. There’s a lot of professionalism.”
Coronel underlined the excitement that the young American players had at being able to watch the Villarreal first team live: “Watching a game at La Cerámica is a dream. In the United States, we have professional teams, but this is something completely different. Just by seeing the faces of not only the fans, but of the players and the coaching staff too, we understand that this is something really unique.”
Villarreal continues to link up with various academies around the world, giving them the opportunities to have trips to Spain, while they learn from the Yellows’ methodology and can enjoy football at the highest level.
