Villarreal open youth academy in Northern Virginia

Hey, that young kid in the laundry basket might grow up to be a Villarreal center-back after all!! Villarreal have partnered with Annandale United FC, based in Northern Virginia, to open what is being called the “Villarreal Virginia Academy” or VIVA.

Tryouts, for boys and girls from ages 7 to 17 are coming up later this month; you can find all the information you’ll need to know here.

Obviously the hope is down the road Villarreal can develop some US-based talent through VIVA that can make the jump to Spain and our higher cantera levels, but the focus is also very much on participation and values of sport, as is true of Villarreal’s youth program generally, with its bevy of youth teams.

Annandale United has U-14 through U-19 teams playing in developmental leagues, as well as youth teams, and the Washington-Baltimore area is a hotbed of youth soccer here. We wish VIVA well....and we suspect we may know a couple of kids who’ll try out. Start ‘em young!!