At the VCF Academy in Canada there's a Javi Guerra. And a José Luis Gayà, and a Mosquera and a Fran Pérez... and many other players from the VCF Academy who give their names to the different teams that make up the Valencia CF Academy in Canada, which was launched in 2020 in collaboration with College Bourget.

More than 70 players that make up the Valencia CF Academy in Canada train daily in these teams under the orders of Paco and Ismael, two VCF Academy coaches who instill in this immense North American country the working methodology of the VCF Academy, the fourth best in Europe in the training of players for the elite according to the latest report of the CIES Football Observatory.

A growing sport

"It is an incredible experience to see how football is growing in Canada. We started with 12 players and now there are more than 70. Football here is not the king of sports, but it is growing a lot and they are beginning to understand how we live it in Valencia and in Spain in general and it is something that impresses," said Paco Juarros, who was able to stay with the young Canadian players in the last edition of the II VCF Academy World Cup.

Javi Guerra

"At the II VCF Academy World Cup they were able to meet Javi Guerra in person and they are impressed to see him now on TV how he is performing with the first team, with Spain U-21. Seeing that they greeted him and were able to talk to him, they remember it as something incredible to be able to see how someone in such a short time comes out of grassroots soccer and reaches elite football," said Paco.

Methodology

Paco and Ismael have participated in the last few weeks in some methodological update sessions, carrying out an immersion with the VCF Academy 11-a-side teams at the Ciutat Esportiva de Paterna.

"The intention is to renew the concepts, continue to evolve at a methodological level the way we train and transmit the message and be able to take it to Canada, where our biggest mission is to help the players as much as possible" concludes Paco.

The players are growing little by little in a country that, together with the USA and Mexico, will host the World Cup in 2026 and where there is a growing interest in soccer.

Valencia CF is a guarantee of success in the training of players. "That there are so many players who leave the VCF Academy and go on to professional soccer, either for Valencia CF or for other clubs in the 5 major European leagues gives a lot of value to our work".

"The players and families themselves realize that it is something real. When they travel to Valencia CF for the World Cup or training camps, they realize that it is the same program that we carry out in Montreal and at the Ciutat Esportiva de Paterna," said Ismael Fayos.