Villarreal Academy Expands to Erie, Pennsylvania
The Yellows begin an exciting collaboration with THE Erie Sports Center
Villarreal CF & Erie Sports Center
Villarreal Club de Fútbol announces a new and exciting collaboration with the state-of-the-art Erie Sports Center facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. This is the first time Villarreal CF has collaborated with a facility in the United States and the prestigious Erie Sports Center will offer endless possibilities for the Yellows. The sports complex will enable Villarreal CF to host camps, tournaments and other exclusive events for all of the Villarreal Academy family in North America. What’s more, programs will be implemented for children from 3-5 years of age and a youth academy set up for players from 6-18 years to provide the best soccer development in Erie, Pennsylvania hand in hand with Villarreal CF.
Erie Sports Center is a multi-sports complex that boasts ten soccer fields, one of which is a fully-equipped indoor dome to enable training and competition all year round, as well as dorms to house over 400 student-athletes, a private school, cafeteria and a top-of-the-range sports medicine center that provides medical care for all the student athletes, staff and the local community.
Troy Bingham, owner of Erie Sports Center, cannot wait for the collaboration to begin to take soccer to the next level: “It has been a lifelong aspiration to build a full-time professional soccer project that provides players with the coaching, support and facilities required to make it to the next level. Villarreal have been outstanding in sharing the same vision focused on truly identifying and developing players and creating a pathway. They have one of the top academy and development systems in the world, with a proven track record of bringing players through their system into the first team, and our partnership will now see players across North America have access to these same coaches, curriculum, playing opportunities and full-time development programs here at the Erie Sports Center. I am extremely proud to partner with Villarreal CF and am very excited to see the impact this will have on local, regional and national soccer development here in Erie.”
Juan Antón de Salas, Villarreal CF Commercial Director, is very proud of the ever-growing Villarreal Academy family and believes the partnership with Erie Sports Center will positively impact the Yellows partners across North America: “Our partnership with Erie Sports Center will provide countless opportunities not only for players based in Erie, but it will also have a hugely positive impact for all of our partner and affiliate academies in the USA, Canada and Mexico. A top-quality facility like this gives us the chance to host events for our Villarreal academies and implement our methodology for player and coach development just like we do here at Villarreal CF in Spain. We are very proud of how our Villarreal Academy family just keeps on growing and we are super excited to see what the future holds. Especially ahead of the 2026 World Cup – soccer is the fastest growing sport in North America and we want to be a part of that!”
If interested in learning more, please fill out the Villarreal Erie Interest Form.
Erie Sports Center Partners with villarreal cf
Why Villarreal cf?
A message from Pepe Reina
villarreal cf partners with erie sports center
soccer residency program
Villarreal cf
Villarreal CF is a top-flight LaLiga team, that has been playing consistently in LaLiga during the last 20 years, as well as in European tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The team won the UEFA Europa League on season 2020/21. During the 2021//2022 season, Villarreal CF was a semi-finalist in the Champions League, for second time, after the same achievement in the season 2004/05. Villarreal CF were runners-up in the most competitive league in the world, LaLiga, in the 2007/08 season.
Based in a town with a population of around 50,000 people, Villarreal CF’s strategy has been centered on creating an elite academy that attracts talent from all around the world. In order to do this, Villarreal CF has created a unique methodology system, built state-of-the-art facilities, and developed professional personnel so that every player that forms part of our system can center all their efforts in becoming the best player possible, making the most out of their abilities. However, the club is also aware that our players are becoming active members of our society and therefore educates all the players in values that the club believes in; humility, endeavor, teamwork, and being a valuable member of society.
Thanks to this system, the team has developed professional players that are currently competing in the best soccer leagues of the world, such as Rodri Hernández, Santi Cazorla, Gerard Moreno and Pau Torres.
Click the link below to gain access to the full downloadable Soccer Residency Program PDF.
SOCCER RESIDENCY PROGRAM BROCHURE DOWNLOADABLE PDFVillarreal Erie Academy Director Troy Bingham explains to players and parents at the Madrid and Milan showcases what makes the Erie Sports Center and Villarreal CFpartnership so special. The first full time Villarreal CF residential academy outside of Spain is now based at the Erie Sports Center and busy signing players for 2024.
The Villarreal Erie Academy will be a replica of the academy in Spain with 9 fields, onsite housing and education, medical and sports performance facilities and Spanish coaches and methodology. An exciting time ahead and a great opportunity for players from around the world and the USA.
Interested male and female players age 12-19 can email academy@eriesportscenter.com.