SL Benfica and Al Nasr SC from Dubai sign international partnership

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

A delegation from SL Benfica traveled to Dubai on September 26 to present the international partnership with Al Nasr SC, from the 1st Division of the United Arab Emirates.

This ambitious long-term sports project aims to provide training, using SL Benfica's methodology, for young athletes aged between 8 and 19. To this end, the Club has mobilized, since August, several coaches who will remain on site, under the technical supervision of Prof. Francisco Silveira Ramos.

On this trip to the United Arab Emirates, SL Benfica was represented by former player and captain Nuno Gomes, as well as Miguel Reis, global expansion coordinator, and Davide Gomes, international project manager.

At the presentation of the partnership, Nuno Gomes said: "SL Benfica's past and present are important, as is our commitment to our youth system, the development model and the successes achieved by the Benfica Campus. I closely follow the Club's international projects, its expansion and its objectives and I believe that, in the future, the Club will find talents and values among its international partners who will represent Benfica."

Miguel Reis, for his part, stressed the importance of this technical partnership. "For the first time in its history, SL Benfica has a permanent and active presence in the development and monitoring of athletes in the region. This collaboration will cover the launch of new areas of international cooperation, the development of the Al Nasr SC Football Schools, Powered by Benfica, a new identity, the same way of working ensured by SL Benfica coaches, and in this way increase the attraction of athletes for the younger levels of the partner club."

For Davide Gomes, international project manager, "Al Nasr SC represents Benfica's biggest challenge to date in cross-border projects, due to its size", as the club will have "a coordinator plus five coaches on the ground in this first phase". "We will be responsible for all the youth football at Al Nasr SC, from the Under-8s to the Under-19s, with the progressive implementation of the Benfica methodology. We're in the process of evaluating the context and adapting to the reality of football in Dubai. One of Benfica's great advantages is the experience it has gained in various international projects, which allows it to shorten adaptation periods, speed up the implementation phase and start work quickly. The Train the Benfica Way model will be implemented, step by step, always in conjunction with local technicians, increasing the richness of the process and the transmission of knowledge," he said.

The SL Benfica delegation visited the facilities of Al Nasr SC and met with the representatives of this club, during which time they also exchanged jerseys and pennants from both clubs.