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As part of Al Jazira’s ambitious plans to further develop its regional-leading academy, the Club is pleased to announce it has appointed James Gow as its new Academy Technical Director.
Abu Dhabi represents the latest stop in Gow’s illustrious career following a wealth of experience acquired in some of the biggest academies and clubs in England, Australia, China and Singapore. He arrives following 12 successful years in various roles with Liverpool FC where he was most recently the International Academy Technical Director in Australia, managing and developing over 30 coaches while also initiating the sports science and a performance analysis departments.
The Englishman embarked on his career at Liverpool FC in 2008 as a young coach working in the club’s community department working on inclusion initiatives for children and adults with disabilities and work with youth in underprivileged areas. Gow then took a role as a performance analyst intern in 2011 whilst studying at university, servicing both The Academy and the First Team and working with some of the world’s biggest football stars on introducing an individual player-focused development system. Gow also successfully led the long-term player development programme during his time as Head of Coaching at Liverpool FC’s International Football Academy in Guilin, China between 2014 and 2015.
Gow’s appointment comes as part of Al Jazira’s latest continued efforts and philosophy to develop young talent from its academy. Last season served as a great testament to the Club’s academy strategy, as 17 academy graduates featured in the 2020-21 Arabian Gulf League title winning squad. As part of the Club’s long-term strategy, it’s also seeking to further develop players to play abroad in Europe in the near future.
Commenting on the appointment, Al Jazira Chief Executive Officer, Ali Youssef Al Hammadi said: “We are very happy to welcome James as the new leader of Al Jazira’s academy. Today’s appointment of an internationally experienced Academy Technical Director is a clear testament to the importance we place on continually growing our football academy. Thanks to our leadership’s guidance and great trust in our home-grown talent, we take massive pride in being home to one of the Middle East’s best academies.”
He added: “Driven by our investment across all age-groups, we have a very strong structure in place to build on the great title-winning success of last season in the upcoming years. While Al Jazira’s academy functions with an eye on the future of the first team, our long-term plan focuses on developing young talent on both the sporting and personal fronts to represent the Club in the biggest global stages.”
Expressing his delight in joining Al Jazira, newly appointed Academy Technical Director James Gow said: “I am very happy to arrive at the home of the UAE champions. Al Jazira is renowned across the region for its academy and it’s truly a great honour to lead it going forward. I found Al Jazira to be the most suitable step in my career as I was attracted by the strong foundations put in place by the Club’s leadership and the ambitious long-term vision and plans to cement itself as a leading example.”
He continued: “I am excited about the future, and I am confident that my experience will help to develop the academy’s functions across all fronts. The UAE is home to many great talents, and it’s great to see many of them are graduates of Al Jazira’s academy. We look to build on this great success going forward. As a team, we have a big task ahead and a great responsibility to fulfill and I look forward to getting straight to work!”
Opening its doors to youngsters in 2004, Al Jazira’s academy has been consistently graduating players into the club’s senior fold while feeding the UAE national teams with talent. Over the last three seasons alone, the prolific academy has graduated 17 players into the first team, with at least six of them regularly starting for the Club. Of the players representing the UAE national team across the youth age groups all the way to U-23, at least 24 players graduated from Al Jazira Academy, with another seven in the senior national team.
From his side, Al Jazira’s Sporting Director Mads Davidsen said: “Following a rigorous recruitment process, it brings me great pleasure to welcome James to the ever-growing Al Jazira family. We are building an environment which possesses a diversity of cultures and a high-level of experiences from across the world, and James’ proven global track record leading academies for some of the biggest clubs and organisations matches our ambition to do just that.
He added: “James’ appointment comes as part of our plans to develop our local coaching staff and to offer them the best possible guidance from someone who worked at the highest international stage. As we gear up towards a more focused player development approach across all our age-groups, James’ work will include redesigning our existing program and develop both technical and tactical periodisation planning.”
Finishing with a First Class Honours in his degree in Science and Football from Liverpool John Moores University, Gow began immediately working full-time with Liverpool FC delivering coach and leadership education courses across the world for the club. During his studies he also undertook a role supporting the senior squad at the English Football Association (FA) as a performance analyst, providing data analysis to the national team during the European Championships in 2012 and the World Cup qualifiers in 2013. Previously, the UEFA A license holder undertook the role of an Academy Director in one of Singapore’s leading football academies where he led a team of over 25 coaches while implementing a technical programme for over 800 young players.
‘The Pride of Abu Dhabi’ will be hoping to replicate last season’s massive success and will embark on their quest to defend their title in the 2021-22 season starting from August this year. The Club will also be representing the UAE in the upcoming season of the AFC Champions League, Asia’s premier football competition.
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