Jakarta, Jan 26 (IANS) Spanish football club FC Barcelona said it is going to set up the SCB Escola soccer academy in West Java, Indonesia, in a move expected to boost the quality of football in the country.
"Indonesia will be the only country outside Spain where FC Barcelona has established a football school," SCB Escola co-founder Dario Gambit Fauri was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
"The academy will accept 250 students a year in two age groups: 5-11 and 12-18 years old," he added.
The co-founder said that students at the academy would receive football training and formal education as well.
"We will combine football education and international-standard formal education," said another co-founder, Franky Nelwan.
Students at the academy, Franky said, would also be sent to several programmes at Barcelona's headquarters, including summer camp and a tryout match with Spain's national team.
The school will be run jointly by ThreeSixty sport, Excellion Analytics and FC Barcelona.