American owned AS Roma has signed a six-year deal with the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex that will allow the American-owned club to hold its winter-break training in Orlando Florida and hopefully expand its fan base in the U.S.
The deal makes the three-time Serie A champions the official professional soccer team of the facility, near the Walt Disney World Resort. Roma will enter one of its youth academy teams in the Disney’s Soccer Showcase tournament.
“We are extremely excited about this new partnership with Disney,” said Mark Pannes, Chief Executive Officer, AS Roma. “It aligns us with one of, if not the, most recognizable and respected brands in the world. It is a priority of our new U.S. based ownership group to form strong partnerships with world-renowned brands that provide growth opportunities for AS Roma in the U.S. and around the globe. This is a spectacular first step of what we believe will be many more for us in the U.S. and a powerful platform enabling us to engage and expand our rapidly growing fan base.”
“The facilities are tremendously impressive,” said Franco Baldini, director general of football operations for AS Roma. “The ability to come here to train at this state-of-the-art complex in good weather during the Serie A winter break will be a big advantage.”
Expect to see more “americanization” of Roma as their American owners attempt to turn them into a worldwide brand alongside Inter, Milan and Juve.