The German record champions Bayern Munich have agreed to cooperate with Los Angeles FC from Major League Soccer in the youth field. CEO Oliver Kahn explains the background.
“Football is developing very dynamically at international level, which is particularly noticeable on the transfer market. We see the partnership with LAFC as an opportunity to strengthen FC Bayern in sporting competition with the best clubs in Europe and the Bundesliga,” said Kahn.
FC Bayern will benefit “by gaining even more footballing quality for our team at training and not transfer costs. In addition, we can offer our talents an even better career path at FC Bayern’s youth academy in the future, with the opportunity to gain more match practice.” , the 53-year-old specified in the Picture.
The goal is always to train players for professional football – and ideally for the FC Bayern professional team. In addition, appearances in the second team of Munich, which plays in the fourth-class regional league, would no longer be sufficient.
“The leap from the fourth and third leagues to the professionals has become very big. That’s why we have to offer our talents other attractive options for their further development. That’s exactly what we can do now,” said Kahn.
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Nevertheless, the campus remains the heart of Bayern’s youth training, emphasized the former goalkeeper: “Josip Stanisic, Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies are campus players. The next talents on the leap to the professionals are Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimovic.”
The 2026 World Cup, which will largely take place in the USA, where FCB already has an office in New York, makes Los Angeles even more attractive, Kahn continued. He expects “a boost in quality and young talent in Major League Soccer, which will have a positive effect on our partnership”.
Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic sees the cooperation with the reigning MLS champions LAFC as “an opportunity to develop talent internationally in our own system. That makes FC Bayern more attractive as a training club.”
FC Bayern maintains three foreign offices in New York for the American market, in Shanghai for the Chinese market and in Bangkok for the Southeast Asian market. The Munich team only went on a preparatory and promotional tour in the USA last summer and are planning to do the same for this year.
