Paris Saint-Germain launch ambitious PSG Academy project in Korea Republic
Paris Saint-Germain are set to open their first PSG Academy in the Republic of Korea. From October, the Parisian club will welcome girls and boys aged five to 18 at three centres, all of them near Seoul: two in Daegu, at the Shalom Soccer School and at the Baekcheon Sports Park, and one in Incheon that will host an Elite program at the Jemulpo Middle School.
In the next few months, a fourth Academy will be opened in Gimpo on the World Guinness Tower’s rooftop.
The PSG Academy will be operated exclusively in the Republic of Korea by Miragro Box, a company with extensive experience in the sector and renowned nationally and internationally for the quality of the football academies it runs. PSG’s Korean project is an ambitious one and aims to go nationwide in the years to come, welcoming 400 youngsters in its first year and nearly 2,000 within three. Miragro Box hopes to build ten seven-a-side football pitches on the rooftops of shopping centres across the country.
The launch of the PSG Academy programme in Korea Republic represents a new phase in the international expansion of the Paris Saint-Germain brand and the growth of the club’s presence in the Land of the Morning Calm. It forms part of a strategy – the scale of which is unprecedented in the football world – that aims to make Paris Saint-Germain one of the biggest sports franchises on the planet. The PSG Academy launch comes a year after the opening of a permanent store in Seoul in partnership with H9PITCH. Today, the club is also launching on NAVER, Korea Republic’s leading social media network.
Fabien Allègre, Head of Brand Diversification, Paris Saint-Germain, said: “Thousands of young Koreans have a passion for football and the Paris Saint-Germain brand. Having founded our presence in the country through our club store in Seoul, we are delighted to be writing a new chapter in our shared history by creating what is an ambitious and high-quality PSG Academy project.”
Sebastien Wasels, Managing Director Asia-Pacific, Paris Saint-Germain, added: “Paris Saint-Germain has become, in the space of a few years, one of the most popular football clubs in the Korean Republic and across Asia as a whole. In the weeks and months to come, we will be expanding our presence across the country by creating even more innovative and engaging experiences starting by the launch of our Paris Saint-Germain Naver platform to offer exclusive and creative contents to our passionate Korean fans “
Miragro CEO King Roy commented: “Paris Saint-Germain and Miragro Box share the same pedagogical values. On top of football, we want our Academies to offer consideration to each player, and promote respect and diversity. We are proud to start this ambitious project, and our objective is purely to become the best youth football program of the country”