Global Fútbol

As part of Valencia CF’s mission to take the club’s training methodology around the world and, in particular, to strategic territories, the Spanish club have struck and agreement with The Bridge SC, a well-respected and high-performance youth academy in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The VCF Academy will become a technical partner of the Jordanian institution, helping the school to continue its evolution.   

The Bridge SC was only founded in 2021, but has gained a positive reputation due to its philosophy of training youngsters in sporting, academic and social terms, using the power of football to set them up for opportunities in further education. Valencia CF share these values and, given that The Bridge SC wanted a world-renowned partner to take the next step, the VCF Academy was a perfect ally.

Joan Aguado, head of VCF Academy Programs, explained Valencia CF’s motivation for partnering with the Jordanian school as so: “The Bridge SC is an academy that knows the Jordan football scene very well and that works in a very professional way to help its players improve day by day. In addition, The Bridge SC is committed to the comprehensive education of each player, something that is very much in line with the identity of the VCF Academy and its mission to educate people and develop footballers.”

Valencia CF will contribute by sharing advice and expertise related to the Spanish club’s highly successful training methodology, one which has made the Paterna academy in Spain one of the best in Europe. They’ll help train up local coaches to impart this knowledge and the footballing values of Los Che.

Explaining the motivation for wanting to support projects in Jordan, Aguado added: “Jordan is a country with a growing interest in football and where there is keen interest in LaLiga and Valencia CF. We are very pleased that we can have a presence there through The Bridge SC and that we can offer the methodology and identity of the VCF Academy to further develop Jordanian football through clinics and camps in the Amman region, through visits to work out in Valencia and through training for local coaches.”

The strategic alliances of the VCF Academy around the world

This is far from the first partnership that the VCF Academy has struck beyond Spain’s borders, as there are projects already set up in multiple continents under the umbrella of VCF Soccer Academy Programs.  

To date, VCF Soccer Academies have been set up in countries such as Canada, USA, Japan, South Korea, Greece, Cyprus and Morocco. Furthermore, there are VCF Technical and Soccer Camps Partners in the USA, UK, Netherlands, Italy and Malta. There are also specific VCF international alliances in select countries of interest.

Discussing Valencia CF’s objectives for the Middle East, and how the partnership with The Bridge SC is an important step, Aguado explained: “This agreement will help to further increase the visibility of Valencia CF in the Middle East in the coming years and we are confident that the good work of Valencia CF and its Academy will not go unnoticed in Jordan and that this will generate great opportunities for both Valencia CF and The Bridge SC, as is already the case with our different sites around the world where VCF Academy Programs are in place.”

Among the other initiatives Valencia CF are working on in the strategic market that is the Middle East, the club have been promoting women’s football through agreements in Saudi Arabia and in Dubai.

On these, Aguado added: “In recent months, Valencia CF’s presence in the Middle East has been strengthened thanks to a VCF Soccer Camp that took place in January in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the presence of both male and female players and a specific experience for the development of women’s football. In addition, we have had visits at our sporting complex from clubs such as Alliance FC from Dubai, with whom we have a close relationship. We continue to work to strengthen our ties with a region that is a strategic market in the growth of football.”

The decision to become the technical partner of The Bridge SC is the latest example of this internationalisation strategy, one which promotes the brand of Valencia CF and the VCF Academy and one which was even a finalist at the World Football Summit Awards in 2022, in the category of Best Internationalisation Strategy.