⚽️ Collingwood United Soccer Club Announces Partnership with Academies United — Opening a Direct Pathway to Elite Spanish Football for Ontario Players
Sharing is SO MUCH APPRECIATED!
Photo: FC Torque – Ryan Henry with CUSC Director of Soccer – Lea Pankhurst
As Canada prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup, Collingwood United players now have access to a real Spanish club environment in Castellón, Spain
COLLINGWOOD, ON — With Canada co-hosting the FIFA World Cup this June and soccer
momentum building across the country, Collingwood United Soccer Club is proud to announce a
formal partnership with Academies United — the official International Division of Primer Toque
CF — providing Collingwood United players and families with direct access to elite Spanish
football development inside a real club environment in Castellón, Spain.
This is not a travel program or a training camp. Through Academies United, Collingwood United
players will train and compete alongside active Primer Toque CF squads preparing for real
competition — inside one of the most concentrated professional football ecosystems in Europe,
45 minutes north of Valencia, where four professional clubs compete within a 45-minute radius:
Valencia CF, Villarreal CF, Levante UD, and CD Castellón.
The club at the centre of this partnership has a story worth knowing. In 2015, a young
Lamine Yamal — now a starting winger for FC Barcelona, a key player for the Spanish national
team, and one of the most electrifying talents at this summer’s FIFA World Cup — was named
to the Best Seven of his age group at the Torneo Primer Toque, Primer Toque CF’s annual youth
tournament in Castellón, while representing FC Barcelona’s Prebenjamín side. That is the
environment Collingwood United players are now connected to.
A PARTNERSHIP BUILT ON SHARED VALUES
Lea Pankhurst, Director of Collingwood United Soccer Club, welcomed the announcement as a
meaningful step forward for players and families in the region.
“Our commitment has always been to provide our players with the best possible
development environment and the most meaningful opportunities we can offer.
This partnership with Academies United gives our players something genuinely
rare — direct access to an elite Spanish club, real competition, and an honest
picture of what football looks like at a higher level. We are proud to be part of
this.”
— Lea Pankhurst, Director, Collingwood United Soccer Club
THE COLLINGWOOD CONNECTION
Behind this partnership is a Collingwood story.
Ryan Henry — former youth soccer coach at Collingwood United and Barrie United Soccer
Club, former board member within the Collingwood soccer community, and a marketing
executive with more than 25 years of experience — is now serving as Director of International
Development for Primer Toque CF, one of Spain’s most respected youth football clubs.
Henry’s path to Spain began with his two sons. In 2024, both boys were invited to Costa Rica to
train, where they played for LDA, a professional club. That experience opened the family’s eyes
to what serious soccer development looked like outside of Canada. When the opportunity came
to step into the La Liga ecosystem in Spain, the decision was straightforward. They moved both
boys to Castellón de la Plana — 45 minutes north of Valencia — and planted roots inside one of
the world’s great football environments.
Living inside that environment, Henry built relationships with local coaches and clubs, watched
his sons train and compete within Spanish academy football, and identified an opportunity no
one in Canadian soccer had properly addressed: bringing serious North American players
directly inside a real Spanish club — not to observe, not to tour, but to train alongside an actual
squad preparing for competition that weekend.
He approached Primer Toque CF with that proposition. The club said yes. Over time, as trust
was built, Primer Toque CF invited Henry to build and lead the club’s entire International Division
from within the organization. Academies United is the result — and Collingwood United is its first
Ontario club partner.
“I spent years on the sidelines in Collingwood and Barrie watching serious young
players hit a ceiling that had nothing to do with their ability. The gap between
what we have access to in Ontario and what players experience inside a real
Spanish club is significant. This partnership is about closing that gap — giving
Collingwood United players an honest look at the game at a higher level and the
clarity to make informed decisions about their development.”
— Ryan Henry, Director of International Development, Primer Toque CF
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR COLLINGWOOD UNITED PLAYERS
Through this partnership, Collingwood United players and families now have access to
Academies United’s full range of development pathways — from short-term individual immersion
experiences in Castellón to full season placements inside Primer Toque CF. Players train
directly alongside active academy squads, receive advanced video analysis and individual
development assessments, and experience Spanish football culture firsthand.
COLLINGWOOD UNITED SOCCER CLUB | In Partnership with Academies United Primer Toque CF
Most families are not looking for more training sessions. They are looking for clarity — honest
answers about where their child actually stands, what the game demands at a higher level, and
what their player needs to grow. This partnership gives Collingwood United families real
answers to those questions, inside one of the world’s great football environments.
Full program details are available at www.academiesunited.com.
ABOUT PRIMER TOQUE CF
Primer Toque CF is a 15-year-old Spanish club founded by former La Liga professional Jordi
Masnou and Valero Fraile, built into one of the Valencia region’s most respected youth
development environments. The club develops more than 500 academy players and competes
regularly against professional and feeder clubs within one of Europe’s most concentrated
football ecosystems.
Every April, Primer Toque CF hosts the Torneo Primer Toque — one of the largest youth
tournaments in Spain — drawing professional club youth sides from across the country to
compete in Castellón.
ABOUT COLLINGWOOD UNITED SOCCER CLUB:
Collingwood United Soccer Club is one of the leading and fastest-growing soccer organizations
in the region, serving more than 1,500 players annually across recreational, development,
academy, and competitive programs. The club is committed to developing not only skilled
soccer players, but also confident, respectful, and engaged members of the community.
Through innovative programming, dedicated volunteers and coaches, and a structured player
pathway, CUSC provides meaningful opportunities for players of all ages and abilities to learn,
develop, and progress within the game.
ABOUT ACADEMIES UNITED
Academies United is the official International Division of Primer Toque CF — built by Ryan
Henry, Director of International Development, alongside the club, to give North American players
direct access to elite Spanish football inside a real club environment. Primer Toque CF is not
just a host. They are a club with ambition — always looking to grow, always looking to raise the
level, and always open to the talent that helps them get there.
COLLINGWOOD UNITED SOCCER CLUB | In Partnership with Academies United · Primer Toque CF
“Academies United gives North American players real clarity and perspective on the speed, intensity, and reality of elite Spanish football.”
Sharing is SO MUCH APPRECIATED!
