The opening of the first Red Academy – S.C. Internacional franchise, in Akashi, boosts the internationalization project of the Inter brand; the club will associate its first 300 students.

Inter will be present in the city of Akashi with a football academy

Next Monday (27/05), the opening of the first unit of The Red Academy will take place in Japan, a football academy network of Sport Club Internacional. Located in the city of Akashi (432km from Tokyo), the franchise will have up to 500 students, from 4 to 16 years.

Inter’s teaching methodology will be implemented by Wilson Souza, coach of Inter U-13 team. He will stay in Japan for the next six months to guide and train Japanese coaches, and the training will follow the same philosophy employed by Genoma Colorado – Inter’s project engaged in sports training and education of boys and girls. “We will apply the methodology used in the club to fully coach youngsters and share the knowledge gained, contributing to the development of our Japanese students”, explains Souza.

Inter directors visited the Japanese city last year

The beginning of operations of The Red Academy represents the most important step to consolidate the expansion project of the “Internacional” brand abroad – especially in the Asian market and among young people.

With that in mind, the club will associate the first 300 students who enroll in the academy. The objective is to bring them closer to the institution and turn them into fans, supporters and potential consumers of products, services and benefits offered by Inter. “It is an established project, successfully carried out by clubs such as Manchester United and Real Madrid in the Asian market”, recalls Adauri Silveira, vice-president of marketing of the Club of the People.

The network

The business model followed by Inter directors and representatives of the franchisor, Ponte Feliz Sports, includes transfer of know-how, technical support and supply of sports equipment by the club. On the other hand, the Japanese have built the facilities and will be responsible for running the academy.

The academy will not have any cost for Inter and the club will receive 10% of the revenue from students’ enrollment. Inter will also have priority on young talents that possibly emerge from the academy, and may hold football clinics and exchange of athletes and coaches.

Until 2014, the club intends to open five more academies in Japan. The aim is to get to ten in the next four years. The Red Academy should expand next to China, South Korea and Thailand. “The Asian market is the most promising for our expansion project of the “Internacional” brand around the world”, says Jorge André Avancini, Inter’s Chief Marketing Officer. “We believe this initiative will effectively contribute for us to be at least the second team for many of these young supporters and fans of the Brazilian football”.