Ashraf Sobhi, Minister of Youth and Sports, witnesses the announcement of ZED’s F.C partnership agreement with the English club Aston Villa to benefit from their sports and administrative experiences that reach nearly 150 years, to develop the level of coaches and players in ZED, and providing an opportunity for outstanding talents to be international players in addition to preparing administrative cadres that contribute to the advancement of Egyptian sports, Invest-Gate reports.

This came during a press conference held on Sunday, April 2nd, at the pyramids, in the presence of. Onsi Sawiris, Chairman of ZED Sports Investment; Haitham Abdel Azim, CEO of ORA Developers Egypt – Which owns ZED F.C.- and Seif Zaher, CEO of ZED Investment Company. Lamine Savane, CEO of Aston Villa International Academy, and Matthew Kidzon, Chief Operating Officer of Aston Villa International Academy.

The partnership comes within the framework of ZED’s strategy, which aims to promote the level of football in Egypt, and prepare qualified players to become professionals in the European leagues by establishing an integrated football system based on the use of the best coaches in Egypt, and establishing partnerships with major international clubs, such as Aston Villa to develop players’ skills and provide training courses for coaches on how to select talents, analyze players’ performance, and provide the necessary expertise to develop the level of juniors according to the latest international training.

According to the partnership agreement, Aston Villa will provide coexistence for ZED coaches in England and give them lectures and courses on the latest training plans to select talents and develop their level. While ensuring that players continue to commit to studying and learning foreign languages, especially English, experts will be appointed in all key areas of applying the “Aston Villa” methodology in the management, operation and maintenance of ZED F.C. facilities.

Vitória Guimaraes S.C. participates in the partnership between ZED and Aston Villa clubs by providing the opportunity for ZED players to move to the Portuguese club to get used to playing in Europe, and to develop their technical skills and physical capabilities before joining Aston Villa, to increase the chances of success for Egyptian players in the English Premier League, which is the most powerful football leagues in the world.

Onsi Sawiris said: “Our partnership with Aston Villa achieves ZED’s vision in developing the level of football to provide national teams with the best elements to achieve victories in continental and international championships and to prepare players with all advanced sports skills to equip them. For global professionalism and the development of sports investment in Egypt, through the use of the English Club’s administrative, technical, organizational and scientific expertise.

“This is the first time that the Aston Villa club signs a partnership with Arab clubs to share its expertise in supporting and developing talents and discovering them, which will reflect positively on the performance of the youth sector in ZED F.C by benefiting one of the professional programs offered to qualify cadres of coaches and develop players’ skills,” Haitham stated.

Noteworthy that ZED F.C. offers a distinguished experience in developing the youth sector in Egypt through various partnerships with local and foreign institutions and clubs to ensure that young players are prepared professionally in all aspects, the latest of which is the partnership with the Sawiris Foundation for Community Development; To organize the first training program in Egypt to develop life skills for ZED’s juniors and proficiency in foreign languages, especially English, in cooperation with major specialized institutions.