Serie A: Juventus open an academy for 5-14 year olds in Shanghai, the club's first academy in China

Juventus (Serie A TIM) will open an academy for young people aged 5 to 14 in Shanghai (China) in September 2016, announced the Italian club on 26/02/2016. This will be the club's 10^th academy abroad and their first in China.

150 Chinese children will be inducted into the Academy in the first academic year (2016-17). They will be trained by educators from Juventus, as well as by local coaches, who will attend training sessions provided by the Italian club. The aim of the club is to cultivate a total of 1,000 players during the first three seasons of the project.

"Our job is to enable kids to bring out the best in themselves. I’m proud to include China in the list of countries where Juventus’ ambitious educational J-Academy project is operating, and for the fact that it starts in Shanghai, one of the country’s most modern and iconic cities," said Gianluca Pessotto, a former Juventus player and sporting director of the Juventus Academy programme, on 26/02/2016.

• The Chinese government decided in November 2014 to make football education one of the priorities of the Ministry of…