Bali Travel news > Real Madrid to open Academy in Bali

October 9, 2007

Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid has announced plans to establish the Real Madrid Football Academy (RMFA) in Bali next year.

"The academy, which will be able to accommodate up to 220 students between the ages of 9 and 18, will be directly supervised by coaches and trainers from Real for about a year," the CEO of PT Realino Sport Indonesia, Jose Eduardo Nadal, said Monday, as quoted by Antara newswire.

The academy is the first to be established in the Asia Pacific and just the second outside Spain since the club was founded in 1902. The only other Real Madrid academy outside of Spain is located in Mexico.

"The tuition for every student is US$20,000 for 10 months," said Nadal after meeting National Sports Council chairwoman Rita Subowo.

Nadal said at the end of each academic year, the academy would select the top students to train in Madrid and play with the Spanish RMFA.

Students from Indonesia's academy will also be given the chance to pursue their training at Real Madrid's training and education center, La Cludadd Deportiva del Real Madrid.

The center has worked with the club's top players, including Raul Gonzalez, Iker Casillas and Ruud Van Nistelroy.

The Bali academy will start the admission process by January, with the first academic year to kick off in August.

"Besides the regular program, we will also open a short-term program or a football camp from Dec. 16-29 in Bali," Nadal said.

The academy of the nine-time European champion will be built in the coastal area of Berawa, in Canggu, with international standard facilities including soccer fields, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a health clinic, office buildings, classrooms and a dormitory.

Rita praised Realino's plan to set up the academy, saying it would help the Soccer Association of Indonesia scout new talent.

"I hope this academy will groom potential players who will become the future backbone of the national team," she said.

Real Madrid -- one of the richest clubs in Europe -- has won 13 Spanish League titles, 17 Copa del Rey crowns and nine European Champions titles.

Based at Santiago Bernab‚u Stadium, the club was named "Best Club of the 20th Century" by soccer's ruling body FIFA on Dec. 23, 2000.

Source: The Jakarta Post, Photo courtesy of www.geocities.com.

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