TOKYO - The Inter delegation in Tokyo met with Mr. Yoshihide Suga (Chief Cabinet Secretary) at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Tokyo. It was an opportunity to talk to the highest authorities in Japanese government about the project involving Inter Academy, which will see the opening next October of the first full-time football school in the world bearing the Inter brand.
Inter Channel conducted the interview with Inter Academy head Marco Monti by telephone. Here below is the full transcription for inter.it:
Can you explain to us and our viewers about Inter Camp Japan?
"These summer camps are part of the project that will begin in October. The goal is to create a full-time academy in Tokyo with our local partners. The club is called "Black and Blue Stripes" and was founded by the Tanaka family. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them because they’re doing everything they can to help us out and are creating something truly unique: Inter’s first-ever full-time football school in the world."
It was a historic meeting that took place with the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, and Inter is the first club in the world to be received by the Japanese government.
"We were thrilled to be received in the Prime Minister’s official residence. We are the first club in the world to present a youth project to the Japanese government. We were asked to talk about our football philosophy and beliefs with an outlook of expanding upon it. According to the authorities we met with, in the future we could extend our commitment beyond Tokyo to include Yokohama as well. It was exciting and important for both the club and the youth academy."
So it was a discussion not only on coaching and the methodology of learning, but also one from a commercial standpoint because of the vast Japanese market and the visibility the Inter brand could have there.
"Through football we’re certainly trying to show our colours, our brand and what we would call our 'collateral activities' to the world. I think it’s a unique opportunity because in many ways Japan is a reference point for lots of other countries in this area, so the possibility of having such an ambitious project is unique. We differ from other clubs because we act directly and not through other subjects. This was very much appreciated and we hope it obtains results in the future."
Are there other projects or partnerships in the pipeline in other places in the world?
"We’ve been working for years with the Ministry of Sport in Abu Dhabi. We’re working on the west coast of the United States through a partnership with Crossfire in Seattle. We have an agreement with the Football Federation of Kurdistan. And we’re negotiating in other places such as India and Singapore. But we don’t want to rush because we want to do things the right way."
