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Inside Football: Owner’s Academy plan is a win-win deal for City
By LCFC | September 9, 2010
When the Asia Football Investments group conducted their due diligence before buying Leicester City from Milan Mandaric, they will have considered the club's strengths and weaknesses.
It was interesting that on the day the head of the King Power group, Vichai Raksriaksorn, and his son Aiyawatt, were unveiled as the club's new owners that they spoke powerfully about the academy, and about their plan to develop a branch of it in their homeland.
The idea is to tap into the expertise in youth development at City and use it to help develop better coaching in Thailand, and to create a clear path for the brightest of talents to reach the biggest stages – the European leagues.
For City, it represents an opportunity to tap into the emerging market of Asian football.
A presence in Thailand will put them in a good position to discover some rough diamonds of Asian talent, and then polish the very brightest back at Belvoir Drive.
City chief executive Lee Hoos said: "If we can help football develop in Asia that can only be a plus for us. It helps them out and increases our brand exposure. It is a win-win scenario."
What do you think? Let us know at sportsdesk@leicestermercury.co.uk
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