T

he European giant Real Madrid is offering training to Indonesian children as part of a worldwide program expected to gather 200 children from 63 countries at the club’s training base in Spain.

Indonesia will be the first country in Southeast Asia to participate in the summer program, called the Real Madrid Foundation Campus Experience.

The 15-day program is open to boys and girls age between 10 and 17. Registration for the three remaining sessions — July 1 to 15, July 19 to 29 and July 29 to Aug. 12 — will be closed at the end of the month.

“With such a large population [that] is really passionate about soccer, we believe that Indonesia has a lot of soccer talent. We will promote their interest by allowing them to experience Real Madrid on the ground in Spain and to meet [coach Jose] Mourinho as well as some Real Madrid players,” Monica Viladot, the program’s manager for Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Cost of the program starts at US$4,600 per participant and includes course fees, transportation, visas, accommodations, meals, health insurance and an Indonesian tutor.

“So far, we have received confirmations from 12 children from Jakarta. However, we will still wait for more confirmations until end of May,” Viladot added.

The local children come from the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), the Royal Buckingham International School, the Bina Bangsa International School, ISA and Lapangan Terbuka.

The children will stay at a residence hall at the Autonomous University of Madrid; have training and play tournaments at the club’s official facilities on a daily basis, be taught by the club’s official coaches and have 15 hours a week of Spanish-language instruction.

During the training, the children will be grouped into teams based on their individual soccer skills for the daily tournaments.

“By the end of the program, they will receive a certificate,” Viladot said.

The program was opened to international participants since 2007 and is also available in West Sussex, the UK; Polonia, Poland; and Dubai, the UAE.

Visit vivaspanyol.com for more information on Campus Experience.