PAOK Youth and Development sections manager Vangelis Pourliotopoulos is raving about his recent visit to Israel accompanied by youth coach Kostas Vourtsis. He was especially enthusiastic “about the hospitality and the eagerness of academy staff to learn, evolve and use PAOK know-how to their advantage as much as possible”.

“They invited us, asked for our support and knowledge and of course we were glad to help out”, Mr. Pourliotopoulos says, underlining the interest shown by the local community to improve the football academy under the wings of PAOK.

The local academy teaches football to children residing in both neighbouring towns, near Nazareth.

In the past season, Millya Academy Football, hosting 140 children, participated in PAOK Football Prints tournament with two teams. They will do the same in 2015, from 20 to 23 June.

Last January, three children who stood out travelled from Israel to Thessaloniki for trainings, in the framework of the selection process put in place by PAOK. A very promising 14-year old will follow PAOK U14s’ preseason training this summer.

Andre Faran, owner and coach of the academy, is striving for the construction of a stadium in the city. As mentioned in his previous visit to Thessaloniki in the summer of 2004, “we live in a small Christian town of Israel, the only one without a stadium. Arabs and Christians in general are not enjoying the same privileges as the rest of the population in our country. This collaboration with PAOK Youth and Development sections is of capital importance to us. Our dream is to see one of our players eventually play at Toumba Stadium”, he said back then.