Paris Saint-Germain Academy is continuing to develop in Turkey with the opening of two new centres in the country, meaning that it is now established in ten Turkish cities (Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Erzurum, Diyarbakır, İzmir, Trabzon, Sivas and Samsun).
Benjamin Houri, the technical director of the Paris Saint-Germain Academy programme, was at the new centres' opening ceremonies on 17th and 18th September 2023.
Located in the heart of both Sivas and Ankara, the centres respectively bring together 42 and 78 children between the ages of three and 19, who all have the same aims: to learn, to discover and to share.
As part of the centres' opening ceremonies, Houri organised a technical and practical training course on the pitch with the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Turkey staff.
"As it is every season, this visit to Turkey was beneficial. The coaches are getting better and better at applying our training methodology, and everything is geared towards helping the children to blossom on and off the pitch. It's an enormous pleasure to see our joint efforts in Turkey constantly progressing," Houri said.
Nihat Uğurlu, the CEO of Paris Saint-Germain Academy Turkey, said, "We're happy to see the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Turkey family growing year upon year. Our academy in Sivas plays an important role, as it is actually located on the Sivas Cumhuriyet University campus, which gives many students the chance to join us and to learn about Paris Saint-Germain's training methodology. Regarding Ankara, the new centre is situated at the heart of our capital, which makes access easier from all of the city's neighbourhoods. We're convinced that this centre will be a success!"