In a joint announcement by DU and FC Bayern Munich, the two institutions have joined together to create a strategic partnership that provides the opportunity to hold cultural, academic and athletic exchanges.

In a statement by Rebecca Chopp, DU’s Chancellor, she explains, “We are dedicated to delivering the highest level of education, and by partnering with FC Bayern we will be delivering a global soccer program, too.” She continues, “As an educational institution, we will be able to support the club in their research initiatives as well as offer their staff excellent educational opportunities in the U.S.”

The opportunities for both organizations are immense with the potential of sharing facilities, the ability to collaborate through research and the exchange of individuals to pursue coursework at the collegiate level. The Men’s Soccer program has seen enormous success as they have consistently conquered the Summit League with domination in the regular season and tournament championships. The Pioneers, for the first time in club history, were ranked number one in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com this year.

FC Bayern is committed to growing the sport of soccer in North America, as they have created a grass-roots program called Global Premier Soccer and partnered with MLS side FC Dallas to create an elite player development program between the two sides. Rudolf Vidal, FC Bayern Munich’s President of the Americas, comments that “We have a permanent presence in the U.S., allowing us to constantly learn about the country’s culture of which higher education through sport is a big element. With the University of Denver, we are enabling young athletes to achieve academic excellence as well as the very best on-field development.” 

“I’m thrilled about this partnership that will give our staff the opportunity to benefit and observe some of the best coaching practices that helped develop world-class talents including Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels, that we can then bring back to our program to train our student-athletes,” commented Jamie Franks, head coach of DU’s Men’s Soccer team.

This is a huge step forward for not only DU and FC Bayern Munich, but for the soccer programs of both institutions. This exchange will assist the staff of DU in learning from a team that is one of the most dominant in the history of German soccer.