ABU DHABI: City Football Group and Al-Jazira Club have announced a collaboration agreement focused on supporting the latter’s long-term football development.
The new agreement will expand upon CFG’s existing consultancy work with Al-Jazira Academy and include advising on other key areas of football strategy.
CFG has supported the Abu Dhabi academy for the past two seasons, providing expertise in coaching methodology and education, technology, facilities and operations. The collaboration aims to attract top talent and nurture future stars following successes like the U-21 team’s double win of the Emirates Cup and Super Cup in the 2024-25 season.
Manchester City Academy director Thomas Kruecken said Al-Jazira had a clear vision — to provide the best development platform for young footballers in the UAE.
“We support this vision,” he said. “For the past two years, our teams have been working together at the academy level where City Football Group has been providing consultancy services for Al-Jazira Academy.
“In the future, we will continue exchanging ideas and best practices … and make sure Al-Jazira Academy gets the best possible support to fulfil their ambitions.”
Kruecken also laid out the goals — short and long term — that the link will aim to achieve.
“This collaboration aims to attract top talent and nurture future stars, following successes like the Al-Jazira Academy’s U-21 team’s remarkable double win of the Emirates Cup and Super Cup in the 2024/25 season,” he said. “Attracting top talent will help support Al-Jazira Club (to) be sustainable for the long-term.
“In Manchester, a lot of players have come through at Manchester City Academy at a young age and have now become world-class players,” he added. “Al-Jazira has the same ambition to produce their own and we support them and share our expertise and ideas.”
Gareth Prosser, Al Jazira Academy director, echoed Kruecken’s words.
“The collaboration with City Football Group allows us to access so many areas of expertise and insights,” he said. “This support will help grow Al-Jazira Academy and realize our ambition to provide the best development platform to young players. We are working on a weekly basis to exchange ideas, share valuable insights and develop programs.”
He added: “In terms of the future, we hope to see more players coming through from the academy and into Al-Jazira’s first team and then representing the senior national teams. We want players to have a professional career, playing in elite leagues across the world.”
Beyond the academy, CFG will advise on best practices in areas such as talent identification, recruitment, player development and performance optimization. The collaboration will also include the sharing of knowledge in data analytics and the identification of actionable data insights.
For CFG, the partnership strengthens its presence in the region and opens new opportunities for knowledge exchange and local insights. It complements CFG’s regional City Football Schools programs, which currently have more than 3,000 students enrolled.
“We look forward to expanding our work with Al-Jazira Club across key, high-impact football projects,” said Olivier Turkel, general manager at City Football Middle East.
“Because of our unique model, we bring a diverse global expertise, as well as a track record of successes around the world. Through the consultancy, we aim to share our unique insights and to contribute to the club’s on-pitch performance. This collaboration is also an opportunity to contribute to the continued growth of football in the region, and we will work hard to do so.”
Al-Jazira Club CEO Jamal Saeed Al Nuaimi said: “Collaborating with City Football Group underscores our commitment to world-class football development and reinforces our position as a regional leader and innovator. We take pride in the progress already achieved at our academy, and we are confident that CFG’s proven expertise will elevate us further — enhancing talent cultivation and driving sustainable, long-term success across the club.”
