Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC on Wednesday announced that it has signed a three-year international club partnership with English Premier League side Watford FC.
The association will play an important role in the development of the football ecosystem in Odisha as coaches from Watford will help the Indian Super League side to set up youth systems, an ISL media release said.
Players from Odisha FC's elite youth team will get an opportunity to train with Watford's first team and/or academy team, it added.
The two will support each other in their respective youth systems, including scouting and training of young footballers and will also collaborate and promote different grassroots programmes.
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The clubs will work together for the development of women's football in the state and across India, and friendly matches will be organised between their women's teams.
The Bhubaneswar-based side will also have an opportunity to travel and train at Watford as a part of the pre-season training and will also play friendly matches in England.
We are excited at the prospect of working with Watford FC's coaches with a view to establishing a residential academy in Odisha, Odisha FC president Raj Athwal said.
For the Odisha supporters, there is the exciting prospect of potentially loaning players from Watford FC and, equally, players from Odisha FC can be scouted to play in the English leagues, he added.
Watford FC commercial director Paul O'Brien said the partnership was really quite different and we love to get involved in new things that provide really different experiences for the club and our staff.
PTI
