• The deal, signed in Juventus’ home city of Turin, is an agreement for the mutual development of football excellence and new sporting talent in Italy and Saudi Arabia

Francesco Bongarra

TURIN: A joint program signed on Friday between Juventus FC and the Saudi Future Falcons will have a positive impact on the development of Saudi footballing talent, officials said.

The deal, signed in Juventus’ home city of Turin, is an agreement for the mutual development of football excellence and new sporting talent in Italy and Saudi Arabia.

The agreement was signed by Ghassan Felemban and Romeo Jozak, general director and technical director of the Future Falcons Program — promoted by the Saudi Football Federation as part of the Vision 2030 project — and Juventus President and CEO Gianluca Ferrero and Maurizio Scanavino.

Gianluca Pessotto, head of the Juventus FC youth system, told Arab News that the partnership “could definitely lead to further occasions of cooperation for us.”

Under this partnership, Juventus, one of the oldest and most prestigious Italian football clubs in the Serie A league, will open its doors to young soccer Saudi talents who will be able to attend training sessions in Turin and play in friendly matches.

Young Juventus players will also have the highly formative opportunity to play in international matches.

Training for Saudi technical, administrative and medical staff, who will also be granted access to the Juventus facilities in Turin, and the attendance of Juventus observers and coaches at matches and training sessions of the Future Falcons Program in KSA, are also part of the agreement.

“Our main goal is to allow young promising players in Italy and in Saudi Arabia to develop their skills at the best. I think that Future Falcons is a great project as it focuses on the best young Saudi players,” Pessotto said.

“We want to help develop talent, and combine our knowledge with our partners, from a sporting but also educational point of view,” he said.

Ghassan Felemban expressed his gratitude to Juventus, adding: “This collaboration will have a positive impact on the development of the talents.”

“Our commitment to technical excellence and personal improvement, following the methodology of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, is continuous,” he said.

Juventus FC, the second-oldest Italian soccer club, has won 36 Italian official league titles, 14 Coppa Italia titles and nine Supercoppa Italiana titles, and is the record holder for all these competitions. Juve has also won two Intercontinental Cups, two European Cups/UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, a joint national record of three UEFA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and a joint national record of one UEFA Intertoto Cup.