Bayern Munich and LAFC agree to player development venture
On Monday, LAFC announced joint venture with German giants Bayern Munich with the aim of talent development. The program, titled “Red&Gold Football,” is based in Munich. It provides young talents a pathway to first-team play and a place to combine ideas from both clubs.
In an exclusive interview with ESPN, LAFC co-president and general Manager John Thorrington said the goal is vertical integration. LAFC can unlock a scouting network with Bayern Munich, one that is among the top in the world. Meanwhile, Bayern has a pathway to the largely untapped talent pool in the United States.
“The transfer market is a big part of our business, and I think Bayern Munich sees great potential in MLS and LAFC and this pipeline of talent,” Thorrington told ESPN. “I think it enables us to go after a more mature player, but then when you back that all the way down into our academy it essentially widens our funnel and then also gives us far more opportunities to place players globally.”
The two clubs both own 50% of Red&Gold Football. The breakdown and functionality is fairly simple. Players can move from the LAFC academy over to Munich to get more European training. Players not ready for first-team action in the Bundesliga can develop at a top level in MLS with LAFC. The hub and crux of the partnership, though, remains in Munich.
Bayern Munich and LAFC open to adding more clubs to player development
According to LAFC, both clubs envision and predict the joint venture to grow. In fact, both welcome more clubs to further enhance the capability of player development growth.
In a way, it is similar to clubs that are connected under one umbrella. Think the City Football Group that has clubs in England (Manchester City), New York (NYCFC), France (Troyes), Italy (Palermo) and more. Or, the Red Bull Group with New York Red Bulls, RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg. Each of those clubs regularly exchanges players, coaches and ideas between countries and continents. Even Chelsea owner Todd Boehly looked into making Chelsea into more of a group like that. He recently looked into buying Strasbourg in France.
The player development venture between Bayern Munich and LAFC is not quite on that level. However, there is reason to believe the relationship between the two entities can grow further.