The International Center of European Football is known for providing the most intensive and elite competition program to international student-athletes coming from all over the world.
Following the professional French “Ligue 1” heritage of its own club, Thonon Evian Grand Geneve FC, ICEF expertly develops players capable of competing at the highest level of football. According to Bryan Bergougnoux, UEFA Technical Director at the International Center of European Football and Thonon Evian Grand Geneve FC, here are the top three reasons why ICEF’s competition program is the most exclusive and unique:
The world-class partner clubs
At the International Center of European Football, UEFA certified technical directors carefully build competition programs with highly regarded professional D1 and D2 partner clubs, allowing players to participate in at least 25 competitive games and 3 elite tournaments each season.
Partner clubs include Paris Saint-Germain FC, AS Monaco, FC Lyon, Servette Genève, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Paris FC, OL Olympique Lyonnais, ASSE, Clermont Ferrand, Nîmes Olympique, Cagliari Calcio.
The level of competition through Thonon Evian Grand Geneve FC
ICEF owns and operates Thonon Evian Grand Geneve FC, the biggest club in the Greater Geneva area gathering hundreds of elite players competing at the French national level in official leagues established by the French Federation of Football.
As a result, the most advanced players enrolled in the 10-month Pro Residency program at ICEF are selected to integrate the teams of Thonon Evian Grand Geneve to train and compete. This provides unique and extraordinary competition experiences, with opportunities to develop even faster and to receive exposure to the most competitive French clubs.
Bryan Bergougnoux, Technical Director at ICEF and TEGG explains:
“Participating in ICEF’s intensive and elite competition program allows players to progress faster than in another football academy. In fact, international student-athletes bring a genuine philosophy of dedication and pursuit of performance. At ICEF, football players go out of their comfort zone and work their hardest to keep up with the level of competition, and also benefit from constant individual attention to boost their mental and physical capabilities.
One of my responsibilities within ICEF’s technical staff is to successfully develop bridges between the residents and the most elite teams of Thonon Evian Grand Geneve FC to create actual launching platforms for international players’ future football careers. The entire technical staff supports, monitors and mentors all players, leading them to reach the necessary level to perform their best and most efficiently in official competition.
I often compare ICEF to Olympique Lyonnais’ football academy, where I was trained to become a professional player. It is a very similar, improved version.”
About coach Bryan Bergougnoux
Bryan Bergougnoux brings his personal experience in the French Pro Ligue 1 to coach the Thonon Evian Grand Geneve FC Reserve Team. He is also in charge of developing ICEF student-athletes’ competition program together with coach Julien Bernard.
Professional playing experience: 2001 – 2018
Football Academy: Olympique Lyonnais
Clubs: France Pro Ligue 1, Italy Pro Serie B, U15, U16, U17, U21 French National Team player, Champions League player with Olympique Lyonnais and Toulouse FC, Europa League player with Toulouse FC.
Honors: (x3) France Champion (D1), Italy Champion (D2),
Coaching experience: 2015 – present
Certifications: UEFA A license, FFF DEF “Brevet d’Etat”
