Swindon Town and Karachi United have signed a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding to create a partnership between the two football clubs.

At an event at the Royal Agricultural University on Tuesday, delegations from both clubs gathered together to announce the new partnership which has been facilitated by Project Pakistan, which is hoping to foster the growth of the sport in Pakistan through the integration of international expertise into local practices.

The agreement will see: Swindon provide coaching workshops and training programmes to coaches at Karachi; Karachi players given the opportunity for exchanges, scouting, and training camps with Swindon; the clubs to have regular exchanges of insight surrounding club management, player development, and community engagement; and the strengthening of cultural and sporting ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

Town's Academy Manager Alex Pike said: “We are excited to begin working with Karachi United, a club with values similar to our Academy and shared enthusiasm for youth development.

"The partnership will see us share football programme ideas, coach development strategies and insights into how our environment caters to the needs of individuals through a variety of disciplines including Strength and Conditioning, Medical, Player Care, Education and Performance Psychology. It has been special to welcome KU to the UK, and even more so to our Academy home.

"As much as we hope it has brought new experiences for KU Youth, it has certainly brought a different experience for our boys through playing fixtures and building new relationships."

This partnership is part of a wider aim of owner Clem Morfuni’s to expand Town’s horizons with international academies which will help them to increase the number of revenue streams that Swindon have, as this will add to the club’s existing international academy in Australia.

Morfuni said: "Swindon Town are happy to announce that the club have signed a memorandum of understanding with Karachi United.

“The partnership aligns with our strategic vision of international academies which we now have in both Pakistan and also Australia, as we look to enhance our footballing presence by developing footballing talent all around the world."

Founder and CEO of Prospect Pakistan, Rizwan Raees Khan, added: “Pakistan has incredible athletes lacking global and local opportunities. Our partnership between Swindon Town FC and Karachi United aims to change that.

“We're committed to fostering excellence and creating opportunities for Pakistani athletes and look forward to replicating this success in other sports.”