Schalke and Frankfurt field new U18 teams comprised exclusively of US talent
Since this past Spring, both Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the recently relegated FC Schalke 04 have been holding open tryouts in the United States as part of a scouting program meant to lure promising teenagers to the Bundesrepublik.
On Monday, Schalke offered some details about how their program will work on the youth academy's official twitter feed.
On the trail of the next Weston McKennie or Matthew Hoppe, FC Schalke 04 intend to bring a new U18 team they've fielded to Germany for an official development program. Since March, the Königsbaluen have been working in conjunction with the US's "International Soccer Academy" (ISA) to build a team full of American prospects born in the years 2003/04.
On Monday, Schalke offered some details about how their program will work on the youth academy's official twitter feed.
The team will will train at the club's official youth academy, the Knappenschmiede. The American U18s will also play exhibition matches wearing Schalke's colors, though these will be one level below any official competition.
Eintracht Frankfurt are also working with the ISA and will be fielding a team of younger players born in the years 2005/06, also bringing them to Germany to train with the youths and play test matches in SGE kits.
Both clubs hope to eventually sign players from the program to their academies. The squads arrive in August. Schalke's agreement with the ISA runs for another 12 months while Eintracht intend to continue with their program for the next five years.
Details about the cooperative agreement with Schalke can be found here whilst Frankfurt's page can be accessed here.
#schmiede ✖️ International Soccer Academy
— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) June 20, 2021
Ab August begrüßen die Knappen 20 junge US-Amerikaner in der Nachwuchsabteilung 👋#S04 | 🔵⚪ | #InternationalSoccerAcademy