On 19 May 2018, Eintracht Frankfurt announced a new cooperation: From now on, the SGE will work together with the Global Performance Academy (GPA) from the USA.
On the morning before the historic DFB Cup victory against FC Bayern Munich, Eintracht board member Axel Hellmann and GPA managing director Andy Kotsovos signed an agreement that sets out the strategic cooperation between the two sides and the development of an Eintracht Frankfurt Michigan Football Academy. The partnership includes both the development of a general education school at the highest level of education, as well as the development of a football academy starting in the fall of 2019, where the (football) principles and values of Eintracht will be taught and passed on under the motto "German engineering of football".
The campus of the new school of the GPA is to be built in the Total Sports Park in Washington, in the state of Michigan. Board member Fredi Bobic and Markus Weidner, Eintracht's head of international relations, have already been there several times and are excited about the idea of building a stadium, training fields, classrooms and other supporting utility buildings at this location. Already completed some time ago is a state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena with a full-size soccer field, volleyball courts, a baseball field complete with batting practice zones, a dance studio, fitness facilities and restaurants for guests.
The concept of first-class schooling combined with competitive training is in keeping with Eintracht's deep convictions, which they already put into practice day in and day out at their home youth academy. The Frankfurt academy is known for the constant development of young talents as well as the annual participation in international tournaments such as the "Dallas Cup" in Texas or the "Aspire Academy Tri-Series" in Qatar. In order to introduce the Eintracht Frankfurt brand and philosophy to the young players and coaches in the USA, corresponding information camps are planned in the GPA in July and August of this year.
On background: this transatlantic alliance is also a result of Eintracht's international "Building Bridges" concept, which is based on three pillars: Corporate Networks, Sports Development and Professional Sports. In the past, Eintracht already organized a plethora of training camps around the world. However, the establishment of a permanent location in the USA now opens up entirely new possibilities: These include the extensive exchange of players, coaches and ideas - with an economically strong country and a soccer nation that continues to flourish.
Supervisory Board member Philip Holzer explains, "We have to go modern ways to preserve our tradition." He means a tradition of German football that has a long history of development, success and innovation. One of the "modern ways" mentioned here is certainly internationalisation and, above all, integration into new markets, which opens up the possibility of developing innovations and sustainable concepts together with strong partners that can also serve as a model for future generations. (Eintracht Frankfurt Fussball AG)
