Barcelona set to open academy in Casa Grande, Arizona

Barcelona have confirmed an agreement is in place to open their latest United States-based academy in Arizona, albeit with a difference to the ones which they have previously been launched in the country.

All the academies (FCBEscolas) which have opened so far work with children up to the age of 16, but this one in Casa Grande, which is part of a partnership Grande Sports World (GSW), will work with young players between the ages of 12 and 19 in an attempt to bridge the gap between the other academies and professional football.

To do that, the players involved in the project will be housed at the residential academy and will compete in the highest division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's (USSDA) youth football categories, in which the country's top 70 clubs take part.

Barca also confirmed that the players will be exclusively trained by coaches who have been part of the club's staff in recent seasons.

A statement said: "The players from the Barca Academy will have the opportunity to continue growing, both athletically as well as academically, and will give them a good chance, when the time comes, to choose between professional football or to attend college on athletic scholarships."

The Catalan club have previously opened or confirmed the launch of academies in San Diego, California; Chicago, Illinois; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Northern Virginia; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

It's all part of a larger plan to expand across the U.S. that has been ongoing since last September, when an office was launched in New York.

At the time, Barca said the office's aim was to serve as a "commercial hub for generating new revenue and implementing the strategic plan for the 2016-2021 period, one of the main targets of which is to achieve a turnover of €1 billion."

As well as opening a number of academies, Barca have also approved a development plan to add a team to the National Women's Soccer League in the States and have also struck a collaboration agreement with Georgetown University.

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