May 12 – German giants Bayern Munich are expanding their partnership in the US with Global Premier Soccer (GPS) that will see the number of Bayern coaches in the US double as they work to develop and identify talent.
GPS a grassroots organisation in the US and Canada that through its member clubs works to help develop both players. The partnership, which began in 2014, has now seen the Bayern coaching philosophy and curriculum reach more than 85,000 children and 6,000 coaches in 101 soccer clubs in over 22 states.
“This partnership has gone from strength to strength,” said Bayern Munich President of the Americas, Rudolf Vidal. “We set out to work at a grassroots level with GPS to grow soccer in the U.S. and I’m pleased to say that we’ve not only seen substantial growth in the program but we’ve also been able to help develop young players with our philosophy,” he added.
Bayern’s US programme sees the exchange of best practices, providing curriculum and methodology support, conducting Player Identification programming and will now include a coaching certification.
Also new to the partnership will be the GPS FC Bayern National Team programme which pulls the best talent at various age groups to compete in tournaments in the US and abroad. The objective, and opportunity for young players, is to identify talent and track them through into the professional game.
CEO of GPS, Joseph Bradley said: “FC Bayern’s Youth Academy has produced a number of world-class players. The coaching education and opportunities for our kids have been incredible and through our innovative player identification programming we have, so far, identified eight young players who have been to Germany to train with the FC Bayern youth teams.”
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