By Victoria Klassen
There will be an extra hint of Spanish flair come this fall at Louis-Riel high school, with its soccer program recently announcing a partnership with FC Barcelona.
Set to launch its academy for Grade 7 and 8 students with tryouts on Aug. 14, the program will become the first of its kind locally to feature a pro club teaming up full-time with a school program.
“At the school, I felt we needed something to go a little further and reach a little higher,” explains Louis-Riel athletic director Joé Fournier, who also leads the school’s sports-study soccer program. “And FCB were interested in setting up in Ottawa because they know it’s a big soccer market.”
Louis-Riel’s relationship with the FC Barcelona escola dates back to late 2013, with the European powerhouse holding week-long camps locally in the past. Ottawa will become the fourth Canadian city to welcome a full-time academy, alongside Toronto, Vancouver, and Edmonton.
Members of the academy will practice soccer on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and do cross-training or other sports-related activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while matches will be on Saturday mornings.
Open to Louis-Riel students as well as community players, an evening Barça academy will also begin operations this fall.
Angel Berastain Munar, who previously directed Barcelona’s escola in Morocco, will serve as technical director of both programs.
Fournier remains head coach of the Louis-Riel Rebelles, with Munar being heavily involved with the school’s team, including twice-a-week sessions with the school’s Grade 9-12 soccer players in its sports-study program.
The bulk of the academy activities will run out of the Louis-Riel Dome next door to the school in Blackburn Hamlet, which features a full-size indoor pitch.
“This way the kids don’t have to travel everywhere,” Fournier highlights. “They don’t have to rush home go to their practice and come home late, because everything is going to happen right there at the school.”