English Premier league side Southampton Football Club has partnered with Asante Kotoko SC to support the development of Ghanaian Premier League Asante Kotoko’s strategy both on and off the pitch.
A statement from the English club said “Southampton will share their industry-leading coaching expertise to help Asante Kotoko realise their ambition of building a sustainable Academy and pathway to the first team, with year-round remote support supplemented by regular visits to Ghana throughout the partnership from the club’s International Football Partnership team.”
“The partnership will include Academy staff exchange visits between the UK and Ghana, as well as opportunities for Asante Kotoko’s young players to attend annual UK Player Development camps and experience the Southampton Academy methodology first-hand, when travel corridors open up and it is safe to travel”, the statement added.
Asante Kotoko’s CEO, Nana Yaw Amponsah commented that “This partnership enables us to plug Asante Kotoko into Southampton in such a way that Kotoko functions like Southampton. Kotoko would have everything Southampton has but to a level that reflects our different budgets. I believe that with the expertise and resources available at Southampton, we can tap into this and develop our setup to look and feel professional like Saints.”
Asante Kotoko SC becomes Southampton’s first professional club partnership in Africa adding to a range of partners across North America, the Middle East, Australia and Japan.
