As a prelude to this establishment, planned for January 2025, the leaders of the Benfica Campus Côte d’Ivoire Academy unveiled, this Thursday, December 12, 2024, in Abidjan, their methodology as well as the objectives of this football structure.
The project coordinator, Mr. Pedro Alegria, specified that the academy will be based at the National Institute of Youth and Sports (INJS), in Abidjan and will house the 132 residents selected during the national tour to detect
young talents which was held from November 27 to December 12, 2024.
The academy will be equipped with modern dormitories and a gymnasium to develop the physical capacity of the players, a school and a canteen offering rich and diversified dishes to prepare the growth of the young people as football players.
According to him, the objective through this establishment is to give young players “the tools and opportunities to engage in a process of individual development, in a team environment, but also to supervise them in a fun and secure environment.”
It is also about promoting the values of the club and “transmitting social and human values to them to enable them to balance their sporting life with all other responsibilities, including school and family,” he went on.
The methodology of the academy, he will say, is based on “the quality of the decision, the speed of the decision and on the decision focused on the game and the principles of the game.” This football school intends to develop a game model that guarantees high performance.
To achieve this, he will emphasise that the players will be held to a code of conduct that advocates “the dedication of all, the pride of belonging to the greatest Portuguese institution, continuous self-denial, respect for the rules and duties, respect for the teammate and the opponent.”
Furthermore, they will be required to respect all the academy facilities, develop team spirit and be extremely dedicated to achieving successes that honor and preserve SL Benfica’s unique history, said Mr. Pedro Alegria.
Mr. Lancine Diomande, the president of the Benfica Campus Côte d’Ivoire Academy, spoke about the possibility of creating satellite centers in cities in the interior of the country with the support of the Ivorian government through the INJS.
AP/Sf/fss/as/APA