What Sawiris said on Villa’s new partnership with Vissel Kobe

Sumeet Paul

1 year ago

Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris has confirmed a new strategic partnership with Japanese side Vissel Kobe as V Sports expand their global network.

Following agreements with Egyptian club ZED FC and Vitoria Sport Clube in Portugal, an announcement was made this week that Vissel Kobe were the latest to join the expansion, which aims to build a strong network for the development of talent.

It’s noted in the club’s statement that work will be geared towards youth development, sharing of ideas, techniques and practices in relation to coaching, scouting, recruitment and data analysis, as well as the opportunity for Japanese players to make the move across to Europe, with Villa the obvious eventual destination.

Time will ultimately tell if it pays dividends from a Villa perspective in terms of seeing talent arriving at the club to bolster Unai Emery and the squad’s chances of being successful, but it’s evidently an important part of V Sports’ vision and plans moving forward in terms of building that global network of clubs, like we’ve seen other ownership groups do elsewhere.

Sawiris himself confirmed the news in a video shared by Villa on Thursday morning, and as per his words below, he is clearly excited and optimistic about the benefits of such a move, and hopefully it enables Villa to become increasingly competitive and at the forefront of the ownership’s plans in the coming years.

“We are delighted to announce a new partnership with the prestigious Japanese football club Vissel Kobe,” he said in a video posted to announce the move. “I want to thank my friend Hiroshi Mikitani (the club owner) and the president of Vissel Kobe Mr Yuki Chifu for this opportunity. The partnership will benefit both Vissel Kobe and Aston Villa in many ways; The clubs will work together and share knowledge in key areas such as performance, scouting and recruitment, data analysis, first team squad management, commercial and brand awareness.

“Aston Villa will also assist with the development of elite academy players at Vissel Kobe and the development of Vissel Kobe’s youth development coaching staff, will help create pathways for Vissel Kobe players to play in Europe, and ultimately, hopefully, Aston Villa. An Aston Villa academy team will be travelling to play an international tournament in Japan in 2024 – a fantastic opportunity for the Villa boys to travel to a new country and play football in a new environment.

“Vissel Kobe’s academy teams will be invited to play in tournaments here at Villa Park and also in Egypt at our partner club ZED FC. We look forward to welcoming senior members of the Vissel Kobe management team to Villa later this month, and at the same time we are delighted to be hosting two of Vissel Kobe’s most talented under-16 players for a week of training at Bodymoor Heath in Birmingham.

“I’m sure this will be a hugely successful partnership and we look forward to working closely with our friends in Kobe over the coming years. Good luck to Vissel Kobe for your remaining games of the season and your efforts to win the league title.”

It’s questionable as to whether we’ve really seen the benefit of the partnership with ZED and Vitoria thus far, albeit we’re not privy to all matters behind the scenes at a sporting level or further up the hierarchy, with President of Football Operations, Monchi, no doubt using that to his advantage.

Nevertheless, given the impact and influence that Sawiris and Wes Edens have had since they arrived and the sensible decisions that they’ve made off the pitch throughout their tenure to date, it’s hoped that their vision and ambition comes to fruition to benefit all concerned.