Brentford Football Club’s Category Two Academy has signed a ground-breaking partnership with a leading talent identification and development programme in the United States of America.
An affiliate agreement with Next Gen USA has been signed and the Club will work with the player development programme for the next three years.
Next Gen USA has created “Best with Best” Regional Training Centers from Boston to Washington DC with 1,500 players involved in their programme.
Their mission statement is to inspire, educate and empower promising young players to reach their full potential on and off the field.
Their goal is to accelerating the development of promising young players who aspire to play college, professional or international football.
The leadership team of Next Gen USA includes former Manchester United defender John Curtis and Chelsea Academy coach Jeff Bookman.
The not-for-profit programme is run by Tony Williams, one of the most respected men in youth development in the USA and a former USSF national scout.
Tony Williams said “There’s a lot of talented young players in the USA.
“In order for these promising players to reach their full potential they need to be in more professional training environments and be challenged in more competitive meaningful games.
“This partnership with Brentford FC will provide great developmental opportunities for both organizations.
“We chose Brentford because of their commitment to youth development and the ambition of the Club’s ownership and look forward to working together towards an exciting future.”
Ose Aibangee, Brentford Academy Director, said: “Finding the best players possible to come in to the Club requires a lot of work.
“In the past we have set up partnerships with well-run clubs, and a league in Ireland, which has been a good way for us to see the range of talent available.
“But we have to cast our net further if we are to find players capable of representing Brentford in the Sky Bet Championship or the Premier League.
“This partnership gives us a better chance to find future professional footballers from America and, more importantly, to get the name of Brentford FC known in that region.
“We will send coaches out to work with young players and scouts to watch their most talented individuals.
“There will be a chance for them to come over here and play against our Academy teams as well as watching a game at Griffin Park, experiencing English football live.
“I am sure the relationship will be great for all parties.”
Under the agreement there will be visits by Brentford FC scouts and coaches to look at some of the best young players in the Next Gen USA programme.
There will be the chance for players to come to the UK for trials and opportunities for players released by Brentford’s Academy to go to USA and continue their playing careers with support from Next Gen USA.
Brentford’s Academy has a series of partnerships in place with clubs in London and the South East and with the Republic of Ireland’s Combined Counties Football League.
This new agreement will give the Club a presence in America and might lead to some of the most talented players from across the Atlantic Ocean heading to TW8.
The move is part of Brentford’s drive to build one of the best Football Academies in the South East.
The Club operates a Category Two Football Academy, under the new Elite Player Performance Plan and has education partnerships with Uxbridge High School, where there is an indoor training centre, and West Thames College.
Brentford’s youth development system is now rated in the upper echelons of the English game and being in Category Two enables The Bees to send teams to play games against some of the biggest clubs in the country and across Europe.
To learn more about Next Gen USA please visit www.nextgenusa.org.