St Patrick's Athletic are set to offer young Pakistani footballers the chance to make it professionally in Ireland, with former Republic of Ireland boss Brian Kerr involved centrally with the project and endorsed by former England footballer Michael Owen.
Global Soccer Ventures (GSV) and the Saints have a three-year deal to create a feeder club system for Pakistani players into Europe, based in Inchicore.
The club's coaches, plus Kerr and his former Faroe Islands assistant Johnny McDonnell, will visit Pakistan twice a year to search for players to join the club’s academy and then potentially their first-team.
Nine Pakistani cities will initially be scoured for talent and will conclude with up to 20 players aged from 18-21 years old being given the opportunity of travelling to Dublin to trial for Pat's.
St Pat’s chairman Garrett Kelleher said: "The Prime Minister's of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has an ambition to further develop football across the fiffh most populous nation in the world and that is exciting.
"If St Patrick's Athletic can in some way be a platform for this to happen and enable talented young footballers to achieve their dreams, it very much aligns with the club's domestic aspiration.
"St Pat's is privileged to have been retained by Pakistan to design a program with Red Strike and GSV to develop players further and potentially explore pro-contract opportunities."
Kerr is also keen to help develop Pakistani talent for the Saints.
"When I first heard about this project through St Pat's I was excited and eager to be involved. I have no doubt that there is a lot of untapped talent in Pakistan and we are hoping to find, nurture and develop that talent with a view to benefitting the players and ultimately the footballing nation of Pakistan."
A virtual press conference took place this afternoon, with ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen a surprise attendee.
He has been recruited as an ambassador by GSV and has promised to visit Ireland to see the progress of the Pakistani players.
Owen stated: "It is a great privilege to be working with Pakistani talent and offering a professional talent ID programme in Pakistan for the very first time.
"This will be the first ever national talent hunt programme meeting UEFA player evaluation standards which offers a gateway into Europe. I look forward to seeing you in Ireland."
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