City Football Group (CFG) and Al Jazira have announced a new collaboration focused on supporting the Abu Dhabi club’s long-term football development through strategic consultancy.
The new agreement will expand upon CFG’s existing work with the Al Jazira Academy and extend to include assistance across other key areas of football strategy.
For the past two seasons, CFG has supported Al Jazira Academy by providing expertise in coaching methodology and education, technology, facilities, and operations.
The collaboration aims to attract top talent and nurture future stars, with Jazira looking to build on the success of last season when their Under-21s team secured an Emirates Cup and Super Cup double.
“Manchester City’s vision is to be the best football academy in the world and we try to enable an environment to support people to fulfill their maximum potential on and off pitch,” Thomas Kruecken, Manchester City academy director in UK, said in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“In the last 10 years we have been very successful with player sales and market values of £600 million. This is what we try to achieve, to further develop the great programme with the great methodology we have in place to adapt.”
Kruecken said that the speed of modern football meant it was crucial to identify young talent and design tailored programmes for each player to help them develop.
“We want Al Jazira Academy to follow such a programme to be the best, to be elite. This is what we try to achieve. It's the same with us at Manchester City. We have a similar purpose.
“Second, for me, it's about the people. The game will change in the future. The speed of the game keeps increasing and increasing.
“And for us in the academy, it's to develop the player for the future game today. So, it needs future-oriented staff members, the best possible coaches, forward-thinking people around the talents, the great talent identification.”
Gareth Prosser, who moved from Premier League Everton to take up the position of Al Jazira Academy director in July, is one such appointment.
“There are a couple of activities across our collaboration, for example the Academy Manager Forum, which takes place once a month,” Kruecken added.
“Gareth is part of it. In this forum, we discuss with all the academy managers across the City Football Group, strategies, processes, content about how to develop the player for the future game. Staff exchange programme is another one.
“So, for me, it's not just about talking about player development, it’s also about staff development and to support Al Jazira even more in the future is what we try to achieve, to be a very elite partner of supporting them in the background.”
When asked if the new collaboration could see City or other young players at clubs under the City Football Group umbrella, sent to Al Jazira to aid their football development, Kruecken said: “100 per cent. I believe when you have the right vision, when you have the right people on board, and the best facilities and future-orientated people who think forward and work collaboratively together to create a great culture, I think everything is possible.
“I think here you have a clear vision and for me you have everything you need to develop a tool, you need to develop a top-class academy, but obviously, as everything in life, it takes time.
“But I think you have the right people on board and that's why I believe it will be the case.”
Prosser said their vision at the Al Jazira Academy was clear.
“We want to be the best. We want to develop more players at Al Jazira and the wider professional game. And we want to develop more players for the UAE national team and other nations as well,” he told an audience that included Dr Sultan Al Jaber, vice chairman of Al Jazira and chairman of the executive committee of the club's board.
“We also understand our responsibility to develop young, respectful, healthy human beings. And we take that very seriously. How will we do that? Well, we do that with the expertise that we have in the room and across the club in collaboration with CFG.
“By using data and research to inform the Al Jazira way. With in-depth planning, lots of reflection, we are committed to making a difference here. And committed to developing successful people.”
