How Juventus aim to develop elite Hong Kong footballers who can play in Europe
Two-time European champions’ academy in the city is up and running, with the Italian club pledging to stay for the long haul
Italian giants Juventus have set out their stall to develop a Hong Kong footballer capable of playing in the major European leagues.
The 36-time Serie A champions have launched Juventus Academy Hong Kong, which has formed a technical partnership with local Premier League team Kowloon City.
Luca Monti, the academy’s technical director, said the Italian club viewed it as a “long-term project”, and not something to be run away from after a couple of years.
“It’s in our interests to stay and, hopefully, make positive changes,” Monti said. “We bring Italian expertise, but we care about the local community and local coaches, and we have a link to a local team. For this to work, it’s important to collaborate and for us to understand Hong Kong’s culture and football.”
Monti said the academy, which has six coaching sites in the city, would not close its doors to any youngster because “football is for everybody and it’s our responsibility to adjust on the field and teach them how to improve”.
The cream of the crop will be absorbed into Kowloon’s programmes when they reach 14 years of age, although vice-chairman Andrew Mak Yung-pan has told the Post his club’s aim was to establish a platform to send players abroad as early as possible.