One of the biggest brands in world football, Tottenham Hotspur, is poised to set up a football academy in Australia.
It is a partnership with a difference, as unlike most satellite academies using the name of a famous club to promote youth skills programs, this agreement is with a university.
University of Wollongong Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Frino said the agreement, officially signed at a Hotspurs game in London, offers 16-20 hours of football training each week to selected Australian and international students.
"The essence of the deal is they are going to supply two coaches who will be permanently based at the University of Wollongong to build an academy," he said.
"The academy will open in approximately 18 months with the first intake in 2020."
Professor Frino said what sets the agreement apart from others recently signed with clubs in the United States is the educational component.
"No EPL club, or to our knowledge any [football] club around the world, has established a collaboration with a university to attract students to develop football and at the same time study," he said.
"We want to help develop players but at the same time educate them for post-football careers."
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Tottenham, which finished third in the 2017/18 Premier League season, boasts 400 million followers around the world, with 170 official supporter clubs — including nine in Australia.
The Chairman of Football South Coast, Eddy De Gabriele, said Wollongong is an attractive destination because of the university's connections with the Asia Pacific and Middle East, as well as in Australia.
"I think the University of Wollongong has got that reach into a variety of markets, including the Asian market," he said.
It gives the north London based club the reach to potentially scout the next big player.
"You might get the jewel in the crown," he said.
"You might get another Harry Kewell, you might get another Tim Cahill in the backstreets.
"If you can grab one or two of those players along the way for Tottenham Hotspur then they can get the benefit of that."
It is an enticing opportunity that will only be made available to a small fraction of the university's 34,000 students, but may just be enough to attract the best available soccer players to Australia's 10th largest city.
It may also help to bolster the city's chances of gaining one of two new licences set to be offered to clubs to enter the A-League.
The region has currently has two bids still in contention — the Wollongong Wolves and Southern Expansion.
