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Partnership with American Club


mikeyp102

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http://www.pacesettersoccer.net/

The Pacesetter Soccer Club is excited to announce a partnership with Aston Villa Football Club from the English Premier League. This is the first agreement of its kind for Pacesetter and Aston Villa with the Pacesetter Villa Super 20 team kicking off its inaugural season in May of 2013. As the Premier U20 Men's league, the Super 20 League provides the platform for top 17-20 year olds in the United States and Canada to compete at the elite level. While serving as a reserve team system for Major League Soccer and the Professional Developmental League, the Super 20 league features teams competing in regional divisions consisting of 8-10 regular season matches throughout the summer months. In the Midwest division, the teams consist of Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire from Major League Soccer along with Toronto, Dayton Dutch Lions, WAZA, CUP, Alliance Academy and Kings Soccer Academy. The super 20 League is the leading avenue for players to progress to the professional ranks.

"The partnership is an exciting opportunity for both Pacesetter Soccer Club and Aston Villa" said Jimmy Walker Executive Director of Coaching at The Pacesetter Soccer Club. "Aston Villa Football Club is one of the oldest and most successful Football Clubs in England and was a founding member of the English Football League established in 1874. They have had a massive history winning the European Cup, The English League Championship along with multiple FA and League Cups. Aston Villa is one of the top five teams in the history of the English Premier League and it is fantastic for the Ohio community and American Soccer that this link has been formed."

The Partnership will field the Pacesetter Villa team wearing the official Aston Villa Macron Uniform. The inaugural season will kick off in May with games being covered by local media outlets. The agreement will also serve as a potential scouting network between top American under 20 players and Aston Villa with the hopes of one day seeing a local player in the English Premier League. Aston Villa Chief Executive Paul Faulkner said: "We're very happy to support Pacesetter Soccer Club and we wish Pacesetter Villa Super 20 every success when the season kicks off in May. James Walker and his family have had a long association with Aston Villa and this new venture is really exciting. The Club already has strong links with the US, with Brad Guzan our current #1 goalkeeper and Brad Friedel, amongst others, also having played an important role for us in recent times, and we hope that an association such as this could pave the way for other American players to join Villa in the future."

The Pacesetter Soccer Club is ranked the top soccer club in Ohio North and features both boys and girls teams from the ages of 8 to 20. Since 1980, The Pacesetter Soccer Club has fielded teams that have competed on regional and national levels. The club has provided soccer expertise and excellence to Ohio Soccer players over the last thirty years. Many Pacesetter Alumni have gone on to play in college, professionally and at the National Team level.

Official Aston Villa merchandise is available for purchase immediately for all soccer enthusiasts and supporters in the US. For all purchasing information, click HERE. In addition to the online store, you can get all the latest news and information at the Aston Villa official website: www.avfc.co.uk, and you can also follow the Villa on Facebook at facebook.com/avfcofficial.

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  • 3 months later...
Villa are enjoying on-field success Stateside thanks to the exploits of Ohio-based club Pacesetter.

Earlier this year, Villa entered into a partnership with Pacesetter Soccer Club which would see the US outfit wear our official kit and compete in the prestigious Super 20 League under the name Pacesetter Villa.

 

The Super 20 League is the top league for 17 to 20-year-olds in North America and also serves as a reserve team system for Major League Soccer clubs.

 

Pacesetter Villa flourished in their inaugural season, clinching a spot in the National Championships after finishing second in their regional division ahead of Columbus Crew.

 

A tight fixture schedule meant the team had to finish the campaign with fixtures on back-to-back days - but incredibly they achieved maximum points including a 4-2 win over table-toppers Toronto.

 

Now Pacesetter Villa - who won all of their home games - will head to Florida for the National Championships.

 

It is the first time that a Pacesetter team has reached the national stages of a competition in the club's 30-year history.

 

Not only has the arrangement with Villa helped Pacesetter attract top young players, it has spread the claret and blue gospel to a sizeable audience in Ohio.

 

Home matches in the Midwest Division have attracted crowds of around 2,000, as well as receiving regional TV coverage.

 

Supporters at a recent game even staged a 19th-minute applause for former Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov.

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James Walker, executive director of coaching at Pacesetter and a lifelong Villa fan, said: "It's a massive accomplishment reaching the National Championships especially since it's our first season in the league.

 

"It is also the first time any team from Northwest Ohio has ever made it to the National Championships.

 

"The partnership with Aston Villa has been massive for our community, our players and our fans.

 

"With the Aston Villa name behind us we have been able to attract some of the top 18, 19 and 20-year-old football players from across America.

 

"It has also been great exposure for our team, the club and for Aston Villa in the USA.

 

"We have a number of players that will go on and make it to the professional ranks and hopefully one day we will have a player or two good enough to play for Aston Villa."

 

Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner was quick to send his congratulations to Pacesetter after their spot in the National Championships was confirmed.

 

"We've been following the progress of the Villa Pacesetter Super 20 team and are delighted that they have qualified for the National Championships," he said.

 

 "Their fixture schedule meant that their last two games had to be played back-to-back in two days and they needed to win both to have a chance.

 

"The fact that they managed to pull that off is a great credit to the spirit of the team and their coaches, and everyone at Villa now wishes them all the best at the National Championships.

 

"The first year of this link-up has already been an undoubted success and this now gives them an opportunity to go even further and make it a truly memorable season."

OS

I honestly had no idea about any of this.

Edited by HalfTimePost
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It's things like this that I like reading about. Great partnership. Hopefully we can find a couple of decent players to come and join the squad. Are Pacesetter Villa open to other teams as well who poach players - Arsenal for example?

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