Manchester City ties up with Australian school

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Manchester City ties up with Australian school

As part of its ongoing push into Australia, the English Premier League giant and reigning champion Manchester City has struck up a deal with an Adelaide school.

The club is collaborating with Rostrevor College, a Catholic school for boys in Adelaide's north-east, to create a soccer school on site.

Among its former pupils, Rostrevor counts several Socceroos and A-League players, including current staff member Daniel Mullen.

Mullen said the club would establish a presence next year, giving students the chance to participate in the Manchester City program, which would be integrated into the curriculum.

He said that we will have a professional Manchester City coach from England come over who will be full-time employed with the school.

There are so many avenues and opportunities with this partnership - in-school is one of them.

Manchester CIty said it was excited to share its sporting expertise with Australian juniors, and that assisting with the personal development of students was an important aspect of the program.

Jorgina Busquets, City Football Group education director Jorgina Busquets, said that by working together, our program will deliver a world-class football education that is tailored specifically for students.

Manchester City has entered into similar deals with two other Australian schools - St Laurence's College in Brisbane and Parade College in Melbourne.

The parent company of the club, which also owns A-League club Melbourne City, has been criticised by some quarters over its global outreach, including Amnesty International, which has accused it of so-called sportswashing. Mullen said that the club's parent company would have education at its core, and would be aligned with current standards in Australia. It is not an academy, it is a football school, and again, that is a really big difference.

If it was an academy, you could say that it was solely about keeping players and trying to produce footballers that will want to go to their clubs.

Mullen said students were ecstatic after hearing about the news.