Aston Villa announce partnership with Japanese club Vissel Kobe
Villa are joining forces with Japanese club Vissel Kobe to further improve their scouting and recruitment of the world’s best young players.
The J1 League leaders are the latest club to become part of V Sports, the network controlled by Villa’s billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
Villa and Kobe will work together to create a framework for players and staff to enhance youth development, while sharing ideas, techniques and best practice.
Most importantly, it is hoped the partnership will open pathways for talented Japanese players to play in Europe and, ultimately, at Villa.
It follows the announcement of previous link-ups with Portugal Vitoria Guimaraes, in whom V Sports own a minority stake. A partnership with Egypt’s Zed FC was also confirmed earlier this year.
“The partnership will benefit both Vissel Kobe and Aston Villa in many ways,” explained Sawiris.
“The clubs will work together and share knowledge in key areas, such as performance, scouting and recruitment, data analysis, first-team squad management and brand awareness.
“Aston Villa will also assist with the development of elite academy players at Vissel Kobe and the development of academy staff.”
As part of the partnership, a Villa academy team will travel to Japan next year to take part in an international tournament, while Kobe’s youth team will be invited to train at Bodymoor Heath and Zed FC.
A senior delegation from Kobe will be visiting Birmingham at the end of the month to formally mark the start of the deal, with two of Vissel’s under-16 players training with the Villa academy for the duration of the visit.
It is also intended the partnership between the club will extend to first-team level and include the exchange of technical knowledge and coaching methodology.
“I am sure this will be a hugely successful partnership and we look forward to working with our friends in Kobe over the coming years,” concluded Sawiris.
Vissel chairman Hiroshia Mikitani added: “I am very excited about this partnership and I think this will be a very unique partnership.
“We hope it will be one of the best examples of strategic partnership between Asian clubs and Europe's top Premier League clubs.”
