Orange County SC has a new European partnership with one of the top development clubs in the world.
The 2021 USL Championship winners announced a “long-term” partnership with Dutch giants and current Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord. This is the second European team to partner with OCSC; it also has a relationship with Scottish side Glasgow Rangers. The new partnership with Feyenoord will help both clubs “identify talent and recruit players in the Americas, Africa & Asia, bringing them in first to Southern California ahead of a potential move to The Netherlands,” according to the press release. This will include loaning players and developmental and talent evaluation for both teams to utilize.
In recent years, USL has developed players and players have caught the radar of European clubs — such as in the case of center back Kobi Henry who made the move to Ligue 1 with Stade de Reims.
“We take a lot of pride being recognized as a club that is on the forefront of player development in the U.S. and are excited to partner with Feyenoord, which is a very well-respected club in world football,“ said Oliver Wyss, President of Soccer Operations and General Manager via press release. “This milestone partnership validates our extensive investment into player development and will elevate our already very successful pathway to new levels. Collaborating and learning from Feyenoord’s innovative ways will improve the technical side of our club and set us up for long term success both on the field and in the global transfer market.”
A part of the partnership includes select OCSC players training with Feyenoord for training, personal development, and potential future transaction purposes. There will also be opportunities for a pathway for Feyenoord’s players to bolster the OCSC roster through loans to the SoCal club.
“We are very happy to establish this partnership with Orange County SC,” said Dennis te Kloese, CEO of Feyenoord. “Having been a soccer executive in the United States for a considerable amount of years, I know OCSC and its ambitious approach very well."
Between 2018 and 2021, te Kloese served as general manager of the LA Galaxy before departing to Feyenoord. He was very involved with the LA Galaxy academy and focused on youth development during his time in SoCal. He got to see firsthand the amount of talent in Southern California and how the youth structure in the U.S. works.
“Feyenoord shares Orange County’s drive to improve and we look forward to establishing a healthy cooperation between both clubs, exchanging knowledge on player development, digital innovation and scouting,” said te Kloese.
The press release states, “The strategic partnership will allow Feyenoord to benefit from Orange County SC’s league-leading pro player pathway and scouting network, while enabling Orange Country SC to learn from Feyenoord's decades of experience in training and player personal development.” Over the years, Feyenoord has developed world-renowned players such as Robin van Persie, Nathan Ake, Stefan de Vrij and Georginio Wijnaldum.
With more resources being put into USL and OCSC, the SoCal side can be a hub for young players looking for a pipeline to Europe or where we could get glimpses of future first-team Feyenoord players.
