Global Fútbol

Real Oviedo is a club that is constantly working to grow globally, with the International Department having helped a lot in this sense since it was created in 2019. A major part of this is the comprehensive training offered at the club’s Fundoma facilities to more than 100 boys and girls from five different continents, with the youngsters expressing satisfaction with the experience.

This training programme is delivered at facilities that cover more than 40,000 square metres, facilities which Real Oviedo restored through its charitable foundation, given that Fundoma was a former orphanage. The area has five residential buildings, a football pitch, a sports centre and a gymnasium in order to provide the best possible service to the young footballers, whose stays can be week-long, month-long, quarter-long or year-long.

The club has several objectives when it come to this project. There is an obvious sporting objective, as these players form part of the Escuela Real Oviedo and can play with various Asturian teams, with the possibility of ending up in the Real Oviedo youth academy. In addition to that, this project also allows the club to continue with its process of international expansion and international positioning of its brand. For several years now, Real Oviedo, especially following the arrival of Grupo Pachuca, and the rest of the LALIGA clubs have been placing more and more importance on internationalisation.

Real Oviedo’s Head of International Projects, James Harriman, spoke about the excellent facilities in which these youngsters are trained, stating: “Fundoma currently has over 60 boys and girls on an annual stay, from our men’s and women’s youth academies and from our international programmes. In addition to the 60 players spending the whole season with us, we also welcome several other players for shorter stays and even entire teams who come to benefit from having a unique experience with us. At times there are more than 100 kids from all over the world and from all five continents living together at Fundoma.”

The residence has a training pitch and a sports hall, as well as study and recreation spaces, all on a site that is private and quiet while also being just a 10-minute walk from the city centre. On this, the director added: “Our aim is to provide a safe and professional environment where young footballers can feel at home while pursuing their dreams. Furthermore, we make available to them our Tensi and San Claudio facilities, where the youth academy players, Real Oviedo women’s team players and Escuela Real Oviedo players train.”

Harriman spoke about how this project from the International Department also impacts other parts of the club. He said: “We work hand in hand with all the departments that make up the organisational structure of Real Oviedo. Over the last few years, we have had a good number of boys and girls who have shown enough of a level to earn the opportunity to train and compete with our teams. However, this International Department project extends far beyond sporting matters. Real Oviedo is an internationally recognised club thanks to its tens of thousands of foreign shareholders in more than 150 countries, while the arrival of Grupo Pachuca in recent years means we have been able to further strengthen our brand outside Spain. We want to keep expanding the Real Oviedo brand even further, as well as looking for new business opportunities in international markets.”

The Sports Coordinator of the International Department, Enrique Pérez, shared insight as to how the academic and sporting plans for the youngsters come to fruition. He stated: “The plans that Real Oviedo offers for young players are always adapted to the players’ preferences. We work with plans for different stays. Throughout this season, we have welcomed players between six and 25 years of age. The different programmes include morning training, technical sessions, team dynamic exercises and training for teams in academies, schools and partners, all using the Real Oviedo methodology.”

He added: “As well as theoretical sports training, we also offer different sporting and cultural activities. The youngsters who are part of the Real Oviedo international programme even compete against different Asturian teams every week, as well as participating in various national and international tournaments throughout the year. For the youngest players, Real Oviedo has agreements with different educational centres, such as international, public and state schools, which our players attend. It is a programme in which education and sport go hand in hand, all alongside the Real Oviedo badge.”

On the impact of the project in terms of brand positioning, he added: “Real Oviedo is a club that is managing to position itself well on the international scene thanks to the various activities carried out beyond Spain’s borders year after year, with these involving all continents, as with the international campuses. The Escuela Real Oviedo projects outside of Spain help with the search for talent but, above all, they bring Real Oviedo to places outside of Spain. As well as holding the tryouts, we also collaborate with different academies and agencies. It’s more than a search for talent, as it’s also about ensuring the kids who are in our programmes and learning our methodology have an incredible experience that makes them ambassadors of the Real Oviedo brand when they return to their places of origin.”

It is also true that young talents can make it to the club’s own youth teams through Real Oviedo’s international programmes. One example from this season is Uil Jeong, from South Korea. On this, the club added: “Last season he came to try a month’s experience and, after he got involved in the youth set-up, the club gave him the opportunity to compete with the División de Honor squad. Last week, he played in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey Juvenil at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere.” That is just one clear example of how the Real Oviedo international programmes offer real opportunities to progress.

Through camps, tryouts, programmes, clinics and much more, the club has invested in all continents with the aim of strengthening its position and of teaching more and more people what Real Oviedo stands for.