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TOR CHITTINAND

Premiership giants Arsenal have agreed an option to sign in the future two Thai players from the JMG Academy Thailand in a deal said to be worth over 50m baht. It is the first time that a major European club like the Gunners has decided to invest into Thailand's talent pool.

The JMG Thailand Academy has been operating for more than a year in Ban Bung, Chon Buri and is run by Robert Procureur. Twenty talented Thai youngsters aged 12 to 13 were selected for the Academy among thousands of applicants in a nationwide selection last year and have spent a full year learning football skills under the guidance of coach Christophe Larrouilh.

The full training cycle for professional football players lasts seven years, but Procureur said that such has been the success of the academy that Arsenal have already booked the right to choose two Thai players from the first promotion in 2012 when the boys have matured.

''This deal marks a significant shift in the way Thailand will be seen on the football map,'' Procureur said, noting that previous attempts to sponsor Thai players abroad had not met with much success.

''This is the first time that a major European club is ready to invest in Thai talents. We will soon start recruiting new youngsters for our second promotion and you will see more and more Thais courted by top European clubs.'' said Procureur.

The JMG Academy was founded by Jean Marc Guillou, the former French international who set up an academy with a similar concept in Ivory Coast in the early 90s. Two JMG graduates from the Ivory Coast are Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue who are now with Arsenal.