BUENOS AIRES – Two new football schools have been opened in Argentina as Inter Academy’s global network continues to expand.
Based in Buenos Aires and Santiago del Estero, the schools are part of the Inter Academy Argentina project inaugurated in Cordoba in March 2017.
FC Internazionale Milano vice-president Javier Zanetti and Inter Academy technical director Marco Monti attended the opening of the new schools.
“I am very proud that Inter are the first European club to have set up permanently in my country and that the project is now expanding thanks to these two new football schools,” said Zanetti.
“130 kids aged 6-16 pre-enrolled for the school in Buenos Aires before it even opened and we will be working with 10 local coaches there. In Santiago Del Estero a new sports centre has been built specifically to house the Inter Academy project and we will soon start taking enrolments. In Cordoba meanwhile, there are already over 300 youngsters and 10 local coaches, with football schools throughout the province as well as the Elite Academy.
“All children like to play football and sporting values help young people to grow as human beings. This is what we offer at Inter Academy and our coaches have considerable experience in developing budding footballers around the world. The individual comes before the footballer and I am happy that, thanks to Inter Academy, the dream can become a reality for so many youngsters.
“The fact this is all taking place in my homeland is of course even more pleasing. There has always been a strong connection between Inter and Argentina, and around 50 Argentines have donned the Nerazzurri shirt over the years. These strong roots have allowed Inter to develop a fanbase of more than five million people in Argentina.”
The Inter Academy team will share the club’s coaching expertise, offering youngsters the opportunity to develop by training according to Inter’s high technical and ethical standards while remaining in their home country – the ideal setting for them to grow not just as footballers but as human beings too.
This is why Inter’s coaches work not just with the kids themselves but also with the local trainers, who are the players’ first port of call. We believe this is the only way to create a system capable of developing youth football in a comprehensive manner.
The training programme will be modelled around the kids’ natural development process, with activities designed specifically for the younger children and a competitive-style programme for the older ones. Operations on the ground will be overseen by Valerio Candido, Inter’s permanent coach in Argentina, and goalkeeping coach Gabriele Zanon.
