Brera Holdings PLC (Nasdaq: BREA) and Toronto Blizzard Grassroots Soccer Partnership Targets Youth Sports, an Estimated $69 Billion Industry by 2030
Worth $37.5B in 2022, Youth Sports are Projected to Hit $69.4B by 2030 According to Profluence.com, with Sports Tourism's Total Economic Impact $91.8B in 2021
Joe Parolini is the Owner and Coach of Toronto Blizzard
Joe Parolini is the Owner and Coach of Toronto Blizzard
Dublin, Ireland; Naples, Italy; and Toronto, Canada, June 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brera Holdings PLC ('Brera Holdings' or the 'Company') (Nasdaq: BREA), an Ireland-based international holding company focused on expanding its global portfolio of men's and women's sports clubs through a multi-club ownership ('MCO') strategy, commented on its advisory agreement with the owner of Canada's premier soccer scholarship program, Toronto Blizzard Corp., designed to tap into the $69 billion youth sports market as reported by Profluence.com.
The initiative intends to leverage the Blizzard Development Academy and Brera's network of pro football clubs and youth academies across three continents, targeting the $37 billion sports tourism market as also reported by Profluence.com. Brera looks forward to going beyond Blizzard's preeminence in girls soccer to also provide a clear pathway for boys and eventually girls to rapidly progress into the professional ranks.
The partnership aims to provide young soccer players aged 3 to 7 (Little Blizzard Kickers) and 8 to 18 the opportunity to learn and develop as players from exposure to talent at Brera's clubs, including 'the Second Team of Naples,' SS Juve Stabia in Italy's Serie B; North Macedonian first-division men's team Fudbalski Klub Akademija Pandev, now known as Brera Strumica FC; its related women's football club Tiverija Strumica, now known as Brera Tiverija FC, and other clubs in the Brera network from Mongolia and Mozambique.
This goal will be achieved through sharing Brera clubs' coaching methodologies with the Blizzard programs and together creating pathways for young players, modeled after Blizzard's 2022 initiative developed with the record-breaking Bundesliga (Germany) champions FC Bayern Munich.
Toronto Blizzard Corp. President and Owner, and Soccer Hall of Famer Giuseppe 'Joe' Parolini commented, 'Brera Holdings is the perfect partner to help bring new coaching philosophies to talented youth in Ontario. When I took over the ownership of the Blizzard in 1999, ensuring equal opportunities for women and girls to play and receive the same quality of training and development was very important to me. Through this partnership I believe we can identify talent, develop and create pathways to other opportunities such as Juve Stabia in Naples where I was born, Brera Strumica and Tiverjia in North Macedonia, the World Squad, and more.'
Talent identification camps in metro Toronto, and European on-site experiences planned to bring Blizzard players to Brera's club academies are intended to begin in the summer of 2026 or sooner. Toronto Blizzard will promote and coordinate the camps and European academies, which will be delivered by Brera clubs' coaches and players in collaboration with Blizzard technical staff. Friendly matches between Brera clubs and Canadian professional teams are also in the planning stages for 2026 and beyond, subject to financial sustainability.
According to Profluence.com some 88% of women's college soccer athletes have played first at the youth club level, with 77% of men coming from the same feeder system. With private college tuition and fees rising from $11,000 in 1981 to $33,000 in 2021, as public college costs went from $2,500 to $9,500 in the same period, the value of an athletic scholarship has never been greater.
'We've seen the incredible soccer talent coming from Canada, as well as at the NCAA programs of U.S. universities where Blizzard alumni have distinguished themselves,' commented Brera Holdings Executive Chairman Daniel J. McClory. 'Our partnership with Toronto Blizzard will allow us to share our clubs' coaching philosophies as well as identify and help develop young talent in Toronto. We look forward to introducing this partnership to the Province of Ontario with the Blizzard, and bringing players to train at the academies of our clubs in Italy and North Macedonia, as these countries enjoy longstanding and particularly strong cross-cultural ties with the Toronto metro area,' he added.
ABOUT TORONTO BLIZZARD CORP. AND BLIZZARD DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY CORP.
Toronto Blizzard Corp. is a premier youth soccer organization under the continuous ownership, coaching and management of Soccer Hall of Famer Giuseppe 'Joe' Parolini since 1999. Along with its affiliated entity Blizzard Development Academy Corp. (collectively 'Toronto Blizzard'), they serve girls and boys playing soccer from age 8 to 18. Focused initially on ensuring equal opportunities for women and girls to play and receive the same quality of training and development available to boys, Blizzard is now going beyond its historical preeminence in girls soccer to also provide a clear pathway for boys to rapidly progress into the professional ranks. Noted for its competitive youth teams, talent identification clinics, and alumni match tours featuring college players developed by Blizzard competing against NCAA squads, among other innovations pioneered by Joe Parolini and his staff. Blizzard in 2022 developed a youth initiative with the record-breaking Bundesliga (Germany) champions FC Bayern Munich. In 2025 Joe Parolini was named an advisor to Nasdaq-listed Brera Holdings PLC, the first multi-club owner of soccer teams to IPO on a stock exchange. He is developing a strategic Brera-Blizzard plan to establish a comprehensive grassroots program for boys and girls in North America and beyond. The initiative intends to leverage the Blizzard Development Academy and Brera's network of pro football clubs and youth academies across three continents.
ABOUT BRERA HOLDINGS PLC
Brera Holdings PLC(Nasdaq: BREA) is dedicated to expanding its social impact football business by developing a global portfolio of emerging football and sports clubs. Building on the legacy of Brera FC, which it acquired in 2022, the Company aims to create opportunities for tournament prizes, sponsorships, and professional consulting services. Brera FC, recognized as "The Third Team of Milan," has been crafting an alternative football legacy since its founding in 2000. The club also organizes the FENIX Trophy, a nonprofessional pan-European tournament acknowledged by UEFA. This tournament, which has been referred to as "the Champions League for Amateurs" by BBC Sport, has garnered significant media coverage, including from ESPN.
In its efforts to broaden its reach, Brera expanded into Africa in March 2023 by establishing Brera Tchumene FC in Mozambique, which quickly rose to the First Division after winning its post-season tournament. In April 2023, the Company acquired a 90% stake in the North Macedonian first-division team Fudbalski Klub Akademija Pandev, now known as Brera Strumica FC. Additionally, in June 2023, Brera made a strategic investment in Manchester United PLC, realizing a 74% gain. The Company has further diversified its portfolio by acquiring a majority stake in UYBA Volley, an Italian women's professional volleyball team, in July 2023, assuming control of Bayanzurkh Sporting Ilch FC, a Mongolian National Premier League team, which became Brera Ilch FC, in September 2023, and establishing a joint stock company for the North Macedonian women's football club Tiverija Strumica, now known as Brera Tiverija FC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brera Strumica FC, in June 2024.
On December 31, 2024, Brera executed an agreement to acquire majority stake of the corporate capital of Juve Stabia srl, the company which manages the Italian Serie B football club Juve Stabia, also known as 'The Second Team of Naples'. The acquisition will be conducted in a multi-step process and marks a significant expansion of the Company's MCO model. As of February 12, 2025, Brera holds a 38.46% equity ownership interest in Juve Stabia. With a strategic emphasis on bottom-up value creation, innovation-driven growth, and socially impactful outcomes, Brera Holdings has established itself as a forward-thinking leader in the global sports industry. For more information, visit www.breraholdings.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such statements include statements regarding the Company's ability to grow its business and other statements that are not historical facts, including statements which may be accompanied by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, the Company's ability to continue as a going concern, the popularity and/or competitive success of the Company's acquired football and other sports teams, the Company's ability to attract players and staff for acquired clubs, unsuccessful acquisitions or other strategic transactions, the possibility of a decline in the popularity of football or other sports, the Company's ability to expand its fanbase, sponsors and commercial partners, general economic conditions, and other risk factors detailed in the Company's filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update such forward-looking statements except in accordance with applicable law.
Company Contact Information:
Dan McClory, Executive Chairman, Brera Holdings PLCEmail: dan@breraholdings.com
Joe Parolini, President, Toronto Blizzard Corp.Email: joeparolini@torontoblizzard.comAttachment
Joe Parolini is the Owner and Coach of Toronto Blizzard
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