PAOK Academy in Australia
PAOK Academy scout Kostas Lagonidis and the PAOK Network coach and manager Giorgos Gourtsas paid a multi-beneficial visit to Australia. The purpose of the visit was none other than to create a communication channel with executives active in the Australian football industry, mainly of Greek origin.
Through the contacts, a communication base was built that creates the conditions for cooperation in talent detection, exchange of know-how in academies, and commercial contacts in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Meetings were held with Messrs. Pehlivanis Christos (CEO of the Football Federation of the State of Victoria) and Yannis Anastasiadis (Head Coach Alexander Melbourne/Ex-players PAOK FC), where the following issues were discussed:
- the development of cooperation between the PAOK FC Academy and the Federation at the level of organization and development of academies
- actions to expand scouting to ages 14 and older, with the possibility of detailed control of the 1st category of men and women.
actions for the exchange of know-how and training of coaches with visits to Greece.
A training camp was also held at the modern facilities of the Football Victoria Federation with the participation of 150 children aged 10-16, while an international conference entitled Coaches Experience 2024 was also held, in which representatives of teams such as Watford, Eintracht Frankfurt, Milwall, Malmo, and Djurgarden participated, among others.
From PAOK’s side, the methodology and long-term planning of the club were presented to the federation’s executives and the program participants.
Of course, the PAOK representatives could not fail to visit the offices of the particularly hospitable Friends of PAOK Association in Melbourne.
