Rangers announce new football partnership with Orange County

Rangers have announced a new partnership with American USL side Orange County SC.

The new partnership includes player movements between the two clubs. A number of Rangers players, including the club's academy, will go on loan for the season to play in the USL for the OCSC first team from January 2020.

Three professional OCSC youth players held trials with Rangers this December. These were USA youth internationals Francis Jacobs, Aaron Cervantes and Diego Lopez.

Manager Steven Gerrard, left, and managing director Stewart Robertson, right, help launch the partnership.

Full-time members of Rangers staff will transfer to Orange County to work on the programme

Preparations are being made for Rangers to participate in a new tournament in Orange County in the summer of 2020 and 2021.

A behind-the-scenes documentary telling the story of the young players crossing over between Orange County and Glasgow is already in development and will be aired during 2020.

Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson said: “We’re excited and proud to announce our relationship with Orange County Soccer Club.

“The club’s international strategy is a core-pillar to our growth plans and this relationship gives Rangers a permanent presence in the U.S. and a platform to develop further.

“After an initial approach from OCSC, my team and I visited Orange County earlier this year and saw the opportunities at first hand that this relationship could create.

“The Orange County area has hundreds of thousands of youth players and the club has first-class facilities and a staff that includes Technical Director Frans Hoek, formerly of Barcelona, Manchester United and the Dutch National Team and President of Soccer Operations Oliver Wyss. They have decades of experience. Not to mention the weather and lifestyle are some of the best in the world.

“Rangers already has incredibly strong support across North America, and this relationship will help us engage with our existing fanbase in the United States, attract new fans, and provide exciting commercial opportunities. Rangers Academy should also benefit with exciting new talent from America.”

Orange County SC owner James Keston said: “We are thrilled to join the Rangers family and create this revolutionary bond with one of the most successful clubs in the history of European football.

“In the coming years, we hope to see many members of the OCSC nation on the pitch and in the stands with 50,000 raucous fans at Ibrox. We also hope to make Orange County a second home for the Rangers US faithful and their families.”

Rangers Sporting Director Ross Wilson added: “Orange County SC is one of America’s newest and most ambitious professional clubs.

“It is a club that in the last four years has aimed to become a prime destination for some of the most talented young players from the United States. The training environment is strong and supported by a determined and forward-thinking staff.

“It is our belief that together we can create an effective global player development network while also progressing a number of other football and non-football benefits.”

Orange County SC President of Soccer Operations Oliver Wyss added: “Rangers will serve as the aspirational peak of the one of a kind “Pathway to Professional Soccer” that Orange County SC has built for youth soccer players in Southern California.

“Our players will now be joined by some of the most talented young Rangers professional and academy players that we expect to have an immediate impact on the field for OCSC’s first team.”