Major League Soccer Teams Up With French Football Federation

Major League Soccer and the French Football Federation announced a partnership that will provide MLS youth academy coaches with world class training through a 16-month youth development course and earn their Elite Formation Coaching License. The FFF will host the MLS delegation at its Clairefontaine national training facility and guide the youth directors through the same program as the one it provides its domestic coaches; however, the EFCL program will include customized features developed by MLS, the United States Soccer Federation and the Canadian Soccer Association. The program consists of three parts:

• FFF Course – Eight weeks (320 hours) of field and classroom instruction.
• European Club Observations -- Two weeks of immersion at an international youth academy at two of the following clubs: Paris St. Germain, Olympique Lyonnais, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, VfB Stuttgart.
• Integration of the Program with MLS Academy – Creation and/or modification of the Club’s youth curriculum and evaluation system for the development of players.

Each MLS club, along with U.S. Soccer and MLS, nominated one coach from their academy to participate in the program. Among the candidates are eight former MLS players, including: Danny Dichio, Luchi Gonzalez, Jovan Kirovski, Chris Leitch, Darren Sawatzky, Billy Thompson, Greg Vanney and John Wolyniec (MLS).