Academy players from Nottingham Forest and Notts County jetted out to Spain earlier today on a pre-season tour that has been arranged in conjunction with League Football Education (LFE).
The Nottingham clubs who will be based on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula with Forest being hosted by Valencia CF, while Notts County are looked after by their city rivals Levante UD, are hoping to use the trip to aid the development of their youth-team players and their own preparations for the new season.
The trip, which is fully subsidised by Leonardo Da Vinci funding will provide opportunities for around 40 players to sample a different football culture and to broaden their horizons both personally and professionally. As well as participating in training sessions with some of Spain’s top coaches at state-of-the-art facilities – both clubs will face the stern examination of three matches, on the twelve day tour, taking on their hosts and fellow La Liga side Villareal CF.
Forest’s Academy Manager Gray Brazil, said: “We’ve been really looking forward to this trip to Spain. It’s a great chance for our players to take on the Spanish teams and learn and adapt to different styles of play, coaching and tactics – which can only help them develop as players. It will also be a great exercise for us from a team building and camaraderie perspective ahead of our first game of the new season.”
Notts County’s Mick Leonard echoed his counterparts sentiments adding:
“Levante are our hosts so our players will get the chance to work with their coaches and vice-versa. We’ll learn about them and they’ll learn about us.”
“The tour also gives us the chance to learn more about our own players. We will be with them 24-hours a day so you can take a lot from that and not just in a football sense. For some it may be teaching them about other cultures and by going abroad they can experience it first-hand, while for others it’ll be more about making sure they integrate with team-mates and gain from the experience.”
