Advertorial BISP extends Brazilian Football academy partnership

[ASEAN NOW Sales]

 

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube’s training shows British International School Phuket is equally on the ball sportingly as academically.

 

Eight years after first joining hands, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube of Brazil and British International School Phuket (BISP) have decided to extend their successful partnership until 2023. Jonathas Candido heads the Cruzeiro Football Academy at BISP. He previously played professionally for Cruzeiro E.C before working as a coach for the club’s U9 & 10 teams in Brazil.

 

 

“The idea of this partnership was to put BISP on the football map and create competitive teams that would take part in international school and academy competitions. We wanted people to know that the school not only excelled at academics, but also delivered a high quality sports program,” says Jonathas.

 

He adds that BISP’s excellent sports facilities coupled with training from Cruzeiro Academy’s coaches, is what has made this partnership so successful.

 

“In other schools, kids have to travel elsewhere to utilise this level of training and avail such facilities. At BISP we can provide all of this under one roof. Additionally, many of the kids live in boarding which makes it much easier for us to monitor their health and nutrition. In order to develop a young athlete, that's a big advantage.”

 

 

Since their first tour of Europe in 2015 where the objective was simply to see the scale of international competitions, the BISP team went on to win the IBERCUP in 2019, a top-tier competition that takes place every year in Spain and Portugal and attracts a number of youth teams and professional clubs in Europe. 

 

The team also travelled to Brazil where they had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a professional club environment. The students were exposed to the world's biggest factory of football athletes and had a chance to see, train and play with the best youth athletes in the country - a unique opportunity that showed what it takes to become an elite athlete.

 

During his time at BISP, Jonathas has overseen a growth of football across the school. He introduced an International 11 aside tournament at the school alongside the well-established Soccer 7s and last year hosted the inaugural beach soccer tournament. Attracting further local and international football talent to the school was another priority, which led to the establishment of a football scholarship for both boys and girls.

 

“The scholarship has helped us to attract high level footballers to the school. Once we started to win more competitions and being talked about all over Asia, BISP students were sought after to sign contracts with clubs and universities. This is the kind of excitement around football that we always wanted,” says Jonathas.

 

 

BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy aims at more than just winning matches and tournaments. Using the Cruzeiro method – a proven, professional system, created by Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in Brazil and adapted for Thailand and BISP’s unique environment – young athletes learn tactical, technical, physical and psychological skills that enable them to develop and utilise their potential to the maximum. The system is delivered by highly qualified specialists in physical education and professional coaches from Brazil, something Jonathas says differentiates the academy from others.

 

“We don’t just hoist the club’s banner and hire coaches who are not trained by Cruzeiro. Everything is delivered by Cruzeiro coaches who understand the philosophy and replicate it at BISP,” says Jonathas. “That’s a big advantage, because other clubs who have established academies in Asia don’t provide this authentic experience. Having local Brazilian coaches who understand the club’s philosophy is a true representation of Cruzeiro – a Brazilian club with Brazilian methodology and Brazilian coaches delivering it.”

 

 

The academy now has 250+ students, of which 160 are high performance athletes who train 6 days a week both before and after school.

 

“All students who opt for football, no matter their level, age or gender, have the opportunity to be coached by one of the professional coaches. Another unique aspect of our programme is that we have our older High Performance footballers mentoring our younger footballers during their sessions which builds a positive community atmosphere and helps create good role models,” states Athletics Director Jeff LaMantia.

 

As Jonathas recalls the teams’ victories and losses over the last eight years, he states how much both he and the kids have learnt along the way.

 

“The last eight years have taught us a lot,” says Jonathas. “Winning is hugely important and we do play to win, but it’s never just about winning. It’s about our students playing in a competitive environment against some of the best players in the world where they will be pushed to their limits and develop their skills in the best possible way. This is what being a high performance Cruzeiro athlete is all about.”