Rovers hope a new partnership will help further ‘put the club on the map’ and open doors to a new pool of overseas talent after agreeing a deal with a football academy in Singapore.

The agreement will see Rovers work with the British Football Academy and bring benefits to both East Lancashire and East Asia.

Rovers’ Academy will work alongside the British Football Academy to deliver coaching camps and tournaments in Singapore and in turn, open up a new avenue for identifying talent, and showcasing the club’s brand on a wider scale.

The link-up was established through Rovers’ current relationship with Moorland School, whose alumni include current Academy players Joe Grayson and Stefan Mols, and the club’s Community Trust with the British Football Academy and their facilities at Dulwich College.

Rovers’ head of Academy Stuart Jones has already visited Singapore and can see great potential in the partnership, not least the chance to enhance the club’s profile.

“We’re really excited to be able to get over to that side of the world and put Blackburn Rovers on the map,” he explained.

“There seems to be an element of support for the club over there anyway, so hopefully this only enhances that and raises the profile.”

Rovers have already cast their net far and wide in terms of recruitment, but the new partnership will add another layer to that.

While Jones sees it as a chance to identify top talent in Singapore, he hopes it will provide great exposure for the club and their Category One Academy at Brockhall.

“There’s a big expat community, a lot of British kids whose parents work over there and dual nationalities, and there’s certainly some talented young players over there,” he added.

“We see the partnership as a potential recruitment strategy, in terms of identifying talent, who are UK nationals and who could potentially come into the Academy.

“We can go over there and put coaching camps on and support the British Football Academy, as well as events and tournaments in Singapore, thus raising the profile of the football club and the Academy worldwide.

“We will share the resources we have in our programme, our sessions, our coaching philosophy and how we work. It’s a case of giving them some ideas and them sharing their experiences with us.

“Ultimately, it’s about growing the brand of the football club in another part of the world, with an organisation like the British Football Academy, who have a fantastic youth system for developing players.

“There’s also some commercial opportunities for the football club, so it’s a really exciting partnership and one we can evolve and develop together over time.”

  • Meanwhile, Rovers have now learned their opponents for the FA Youth Cup third round.

Last week's draw saw the Under-18s handed a home tie with either Newport County or Uxbridge.The two sides played their second round tie on Monday night as was Newport who edged a seven-goal thriller 4-3.

Mike Sheron's side will now host the Exiles youngsters next month at Ewood Park.

Rovers were surprisingly knocked out in the third round last season by Gillingham, losing 2-1 at Ewood, with Luke Brennan on target.