April 4 – Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris has announced a three-club partnership with Portugal’s Vitória Sport Clube and Egypt’s Zed FC. Vitoria is part-owned by Sawiris through his Eden Sports business while Zed FC is owned by his brother Naguib.
The agreement will see the three clubs work together to develop academy talent.
“Villa aim to create new and positive opportunities for young footballers in Egypt and will assist in the technical and physical development of Academy players, coaching methods and scouting networks,” said an Aston Villa press release.
“The strong connection, which further expands the club’s global approach, will help encourage performance levels, while also creating a pathway for players to further develop.”
Sawiris is an Egyptian billionaire businessman with an estimated net worth of $8.7 billion.
“I am very proud to be part of the announcement for the three-way collaboration between ZED’s Academy, Vitória Sport Clube and Aston Villa,” said Sawiris.
“This three-way partnership should benefit all three parties and create a clear roadmap for talented young Egyptian players to integrate into the global sports system.”
Zed FC was formerly known as FC Masr and is based in Giza, playing in the Egyptian Second Division, where it tops Group B of the three-division tier by one point with seven games left to play.
Vitoria is currently sixth in the Portuguese Primera Liga but on goal difference, one place off European club qualification.
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