Portuguese club confirms presence at United Soccer Coaches Convention in Baltimore
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 2, 2019) — United Soccer Coaches is excited to announce a strategic partnership with Benfica, considered by many one of the best football clubs in the world at nurturing talent and voted the best academy in the world at the Globe Soccer Awards in 2015.
“We’re very excited to enter this partnership with a club of the stature of Benfica,” said Lynn Berling-Manuel, Chief Executive Officer of United Soccer Coaches. “Benfica’s participation in the United Soccer Coaches Convention as well as the opportunity for United Soccer Coaches members to attend coaching education courses at Benfica campus is another opportunity to bring world-class coach education to our membership.”
“We are delighted to enter into a strategic partnership with United Soccer Coaches which will see us sharing insights and granting unparalleled access to experiences in areas such as talent ID, coaching methodology and performance support,” said Pedro Marques, Technical Director of Benfica’s Youth Academy. “We share the same passion and commitment with coaching development as United Soccer Coaches, so we look forward to enjoying a long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.”
The partnership encompasses a long-term strategic approach to coaching, innovation, and educational initiatives showcasing best practices for player development at Benfica Campus.
The partnership will kick off with Benfica’s participation in the 2020 United Soccer Coaches Convention, taking place in Baltimore, Md. Jan. 15-19. Expected to host more than 10,000 soccer coaches and administrators, the event offers nearly 200 education sessions, key networking and partnering opportunities and provides insights to major trends in the industry.
Benfica will be represented by Rodrigo Magalhães – Youth Development & Foundation Phase Director of Coaching, and Filipe Coelho – U17s Head Coach, who will be presenting on-pitch and in classroom sessions focused on Benfica’s ‘Prospect to Pro’ Program. The sessions will specifically focus on the training ingredients that enable youngsters to become top players. These themes resonate strongly with Benfica deploying forefront methods and technology used at Benfica Campus, as well as promoting best practices and learning opportunities within the industry.
The partnership with United Soccer Coaches will be year-round with future educational initiatives to be announced, including an exclusive coaching immersion program to take place at Benfica Campus in 2020, made available exclusively to the United Soccer Coaches membership.
About Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica are the most successful Portuguese club ever with a grand total of 82 trophies won in Portugal and abroad. Domestically, The Reds boast a record 37 league titles, while internationally they are one of only 12 clubs in the world to have won the UEFA Champions League more than once. Benfica, who arrive in the United States as reigning Portuguese Champions, have over 230,000 official fan members with many more millions following the team’s fortunes worldwide. Benfica have played 38 matches in America, dating back to their first appearance 1957 and have a large fan base stateside.
About Benfica Campus
Benfica Campus is the name of the club’s training center and youth academy. It features nine full-size fields, a hotel, and state of the art sports facilities and accommodates all of Benfica’s youth teams as well as a team of highly qualified coaches. Since it was inaugurated in September of 2006, it has helped nurture the talent of some of Europe’s brightest stars such as Bernardo Silva, João Felix, Nelson Semedo, Gonçalo Guedes, Ruben Dias and many others. It won the Best Academy in the World Prize at the Prestigious Globe Soccer Awards in 2015.