"As Academy Director at Blackburn Rovers FC, we have had the pleasure over the years to welcome Eastern FC (our partners). Our Academy is a Category 1 Academy, putting us with the best youth programs in England. Our partnership with Eastern has continued to grow, and we see it as part of our Blackburn Rovers family.

What we have learned from these trips is that Eastern is a fantastic soccer Club that has both fantastic people and players that match our core values. Through Ray and the coaches, there is a real passion, knowledge, and expertise that I implement within our own Academy at Blackburn Rovers.

These trips have been a brilliant opportunity for us to observe a lot of talented players from Eastern FC whilst enabling them to experience our Category 1 program, coached by our elite-level coaches, and play games against our Academy players. We provide a brilliant insight into our program and the work we do to develop young players, and we ensure that all of Eastern FC staff/players get a real experience of this whilst they are in our Academy.

As Academy Director of Blackburn Rovers, what is evident is that we have worked with Eastern FC to collaborate and share our principles of work, and share the core values around player development. This has been enhanced through our visits overseas and working with the players/staff who visit our Academy. We ensure that these trips are a wonderful learning experience for all at Eastern FC and provide a real-life experience of the Youth Academy System in the UK, In addition, they allow us to observe some fantastic talent from within the club both players and staff.

It’s a pleasure and a real honor for me as academy Director to be part of the Eastern family and look forward to observing the next group of players who visit our Club in the UK."

-Stuart Jones

Academy Director Blackburn Rovers FC (Premier League Champions 1995)