IRVINE — Orange County’s highest tier professional soccer team is on a mission to establish a global talent development system, striking a partnership with former AC Milan striker and Japanese star Keisuke Honda.
The Irvine-based Orange County Soccer Club — which is part of the 31-team United Soccer League and plays at the Orange County Great Park’s new championship stadium — recently announced Honda’s youth soccer program, Soltilo, has become an investor. The two organizations will collaborate on youth player development, tournaments, camps and exchange programs, officials said.
“Soccer is a global game, and having the opportunity to associate with a guy like Keisuke, one of the groundbreaking Asian soccer players … is an incredible honor,” OCSC owner and president James Keston said.
Honda has been “not only spreading the gospel of soccer as a great game that’s fun to watch,” Keston said, “but also seeing soccer as a tool for children to improve their lives.”
Keston declined to discuss the details of the club’s ownership, though he said Soltilo is not the majority owner.
Honda, 31, is one of the most high-profile athletes in Japan with an elevated status comparable to Shohei Ohtani, who recently joined the Los Angeles Angels.
Before Honda joined the Mexican club Pachuca this season, he spent eight years at AC Milan, wearing the No. 10 jersey, and before that, CSKA Moscow. He played for Japan in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
Off the field, Honda has conducted soccer camps around the world as a United Nation Foundation’s global advocate for youth.
Soltilo has 5,000 students enrolled in countries such as Japan, China, Cambodia and Australia, and also opened schools in Pomona and San Bernardino. It has ownership stakes in professional clubs in Uganda, Cambodia and Austria.
Under the partnership, Soltilo will have access to OCSC’s coaches, such as technical director Frans Hoek, who’s coached at FC Barcelona, Manchester United and the Dutch national team, said OCSC General Manager Oliver Wyss. It will give talented Soltilo students an opportunity to be discovered and play for OCSC and even move on to Major League Soccer or international clubs, Wyss said.
“We look forward to making Orange County the international hub for youth development,” Honda said in a news release.
“Children in the United States have more potential than players in any advanced soccer nation,” he added. “The United States will become a soccer powerhouse.”
Honda said he plans to host international tournaments at the Great Park to discover and develop talent, as well as launching an international exchange and internship program in Orange County.
There will also be soccer clinics taught by Honda at the Great Park, Keston said. The first clinic will be either in the middle of this year or later depending on how far Japan advances in this summer’s World Cup, Keston said.
“I live close (to the Great Park) so I’d love to go see Honda in person,” Daisuke Miyawaki, 34, who lives in Irvine and works for a local Japanese company, said in Japanese. “I’d love for my child to have an opportunity to get lessons from him.”
The two organizations connected when Honda was looking for a place to practice in the U.S. in his off season last year, Soltilo CEO Tashi Nakanishi said.
It made news in the soccer world in July when Honda trained with OCSC at the Great Park.
When leadership from the two sides sat down and talked, they realized they shared a goal of creating a professional pathway for talented young players in the U.S., officials said.
Keston said he hopes the new partnership will help OCSC expand its fan base into the Asian community in Irvine and Orange County. About 150 Japanese fans heard through word of mouth and showed up to watch Honda practice at the Great Park in July.
Chances are “very high” that OCSC will add Japanese players to the roster this year, Keston said.
OCSC currently doesn’t have non-American sponsorship, but Asian companies have shown more interest since the club announced the partnership at a Dec. 29 press conference, Keston said.
Wyss said young talent in the U.S. has dried up a bit because of the lack of talent development by professional teams. These professional organizations should be at the top of their local soccer pyramids, sharing curriculum with other youth groups and discovering young talent, he said.
OCSC’s partnership with Soltilo fills that void, he said.
“It creates a professional environment for the most talented players,” Wyss said.
Visit the OCSC website to learn more about the partnership.