A football academy is an important aspect of developing the grassroots. Not only will it nurture quality talent in hope they make the big break, it is also to build great personalities and human beings. Thread 1/12

Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) are arguably the only football club in the country with a proper set-up to be called a football academy similar to clubs around the world.

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Acknowledging the need for development, HRH Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim ensured JDT struck foreign partnerships with German giants Borussia Dortmund and later Spanish club Valencia, all through the good connections of the Crown Prince of Johor himself. Thread 3/12

The academy took off on a full scale in 2015, initially with coaches from Dortmund. Thread 4/12

Today, it is called the JDT-Valencia Academy with coaches from the Spanish club, and it is already starting to reap fruits. The Under-15 and Under-18 sides emerged winners at the 2018 Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Football Tournament. Thread 5/12

The JDT-Valencia Academy sees over 100 carefully selected youngsters undergo training on a full-time basis throughout the year. The academy caters for Under-12, U13, U14, U15, U17, and U19. Thread 6/12

The trainees live together, eat together, study together and play football together. The trainees go to school in the morning and train in the evenings. Thread 7/12

They are also sent for English classes and extra tuition so studies are not left behind as they chase their dreams of becoming a professional footballer. Thread 8/12

Diet is something spoken about too often in Malaysia and how footballers generally don't watch what they eat, but things are different with the JDT-Valencia Academy. Thread 9/12

The players are educated about the importance of nutrition and there are dedicated chefs to ensure the trainees are eating right. All this in hope of producing footballers that are well aware that what they consume is important to their careers. Thread 10/12

There are constant improvements being thought about by HRH Tunku Ismail and the rest of the JDT management to ensure the club's academy continues to evolve and produce quality talent. Thread 11/12

2018 was a successful year in terms of age-group competitions and it is only a matter of time when the academy churns out plenty of top quality footballers. Thread 12/12