Danetheblade
Well-Known Member
'We will work closely with Sheffield United' - United World's newest club Chateauroux
The former French Cup finalists have joined Prince Abdullah's ownership group, bringing with them a penchant for developing young talent
theathletic.com
Quite a few points regarding the new club the prince has bought in the french ligue 2..
Trotignon’s optimism despite the club’s on-field struggles this season can be put down to the recent takeover by United World, the pyramid of clubs pioneered by United owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
“We believe this will take Chateauroux to another level in terms of the technical side of football, commercial and best practice,” adds the club’s newly returned managing director about a set-up that also boasts Belgian top-flight outfit Beerschot, Dubai’s Al Hilal United and Kerala United from India on its roster.
“The discussions (over the takeover) between United World Group’s CEO and the club started in the winter of this season. The deal was finalised mid-March.
“Now, we can call Sheffield United, Beerschot, Al-Hilal or the United World headquarters (in Geneva) if we need any help. Already, the club has had the highest social media growth in France Ligue 2 for February and March.
“That was because of the United World Group arriving in Chateauroux.”
Home for La Berrichonne de Chateaouroux, to give the 105-year-old club its full title, is the well-appointed Stade Gaston Petit.
Located a short walk from the town centre, the stadium’s four covered stands are capable of holding around 17,000 fans. Since late October, however, no supporters have been present at home games due to nationwide restrictions brought in to try and contain COVID-19.
It means the construction work that has been going on next door in recent months has largely gone unseen by all but those who live locally. The building project in question is designed to take a club already renowned for its ability to hone young talent to the next level.
“We have a new academy being built,” explains managing director Trotignon about a state-of-the-art complex that will also house the first-team training ground and offices. “The facility will be ready by January 2022. It was one of the main reasons why United World bought the club.
“The new infrastructure will be very important to the future of the club and the project. Investment was needed to make the training ground be at the top.
“It is on the same site as the stadium, which was improved when we played in the first division (in 1997-98). This period made it necessary to improve the facilities: now the same for the academy.
“From February, all the parts of the club will be on the same site. That is important.”
Chateauroux’s reputation for developing young talent was a big attraction to United World, whose chief executive officer, Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, described France as “one of the biggest, if not the biggest, factory of football talents worldwide” on conclusion of the £2.5 million takeover last month.
Florent Malouda, a World Cup finalist in 2006 and later part of the Chelsea side who lifted the Championship League, started his career at the club in the second division, making his debut as a 16-year-old.
The talent that would later take Stephane Dalmat to Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan was also first identified by Chateauroux’s youth scouts, while Brentford swooped for Said Benrahma in a £2.7 million deal only after he had netted 12 times in 34 appearances during a spell on loan in Ligue 2 from Nice in 2017-18.
Others to have crossed the English Channel to play in the Premier League after coming through Chateauroux’s youth system include Bakary Sako, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jimmy Kebe and Lamine Kone. Haissem Hassan, a former France youth international currently at Villarreal, is the next graduate expected to make it big in senior football.
“One of the reasons United World came to Chateauroux is our academy,” says Trotignon, who was the club’s director of football in the 1990s and helped set up a youth system that has since become one of France’s most renowned talent production lines.
“Our academy will now be working closely with the academies in Sheffield and Beerschot to apply the best practice to develop a technical plan. We will all benefit from this sharing of resources.
“To me, it is very interesting. Each country — England, Belgium and France — has its own football culture but we are now together.
“For a number of years, France has been a country recognised for the quality of its development. Chateauroux built its economic and sports model on the basis of its academy, taking place in 1995.
“The structure and quality of management have enabled Chateauroux to maintain its reputation as one of the leading academies in the country — one of the best in France.
Not all bad eh?