On April 20 and 21, 1,200 children from Delhi and across the country attended try-outs for the opportunity of a place on the club’s programme, already being described as one of the best in India.
Signed in June 2017, the technical agreement sees Aspire Academy share its football know-how and management expertise with the Indian Super League (ISL) club. Aspire Academy is supporting Delhi Dynamos FC in numerous areas including coaching, training, scouting and sports science. The youth development programme is designed to give talented young players the best chance of securing a place in the club’s senior team.
Aspire Academy has sent Fran Perez as Youth Manager to Delhi with responsibility for ensuring that content-related methodological and structural inputs for the programme are effectively implemented.
“When it comes to football, India is a rapidly developing country. Through co-operation with Delhi Dynamos FC, Aspire Academy plays a supportive and practical role in this development process. Since last September, we have had numerous colleagues on the ground at the club, and together we are laying the foundations for a sustainable football talent centre in terms of structure, personnel and methodology. Scouting is also part of this process,” says Stephan Hildebrandt, Manager of Football Operations at Aspire Academy.
Together with Aspire Academy’s Football Projects Co-ordinator Oscar Garro, Hildebrandt travelled to Delhi to oversee the two-day try-outs for players aged from 12 to 18. “The response in the past two days has been really impressive and I’ve personally not experienced anything like it until now. The enthusiasm among the kids for football is enormous. The huge popularity of these talent screening events is a direct consequence of all the work we’ve been doing together in recent months. Aspire’s commitment to the club is very well understood and provides talented young footballers with the very best chance of future success.” added Hildebrandt.