CAFC Soccer Belgium

Belgian side Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen became the fourth overseas club to sign a collaboration deal with Charlton in November 2005, and the club plays a pivotal role in the Addicks' overseas strategy.

The CAFC Soccer Belgium agreement with the then Belgian Cup holders focuses primarily on youth players.

But the Jupiler League side also offers an avenue for players from other clubs that are part of Charlton's global network to gain work permits before a potential move to England.

"The Belgian league is ideal for players not quite ready for the challenge of the highest levels of English football, and enables players to obtain a sound grounding in professional football of a high standard," explained Addicks chief executive Peter Varney.

"We were looking for a partner where we also could place players that came out of our other international agreements and global scouting structures, such as with ASCE Mimosas of the Ivory Coast.

"Those players often don't qualify under UK work permit rules, so we were looking for a partner club that didn't have the same restrictions that could themselves also benefit from a player, often a younger player, being with them that they can develop.”

A Belgian government delegation spent two days in England at the end of October 2005 and visited The Valley for the Premiership match against Bolton Wanderers.

Officials of Germinal Beerschot had already been to The Valley earlier in the month, and the visits saw the deal concluded.

Added Varney: "Having been developed at Beerschot and gained the necessary work permit, which usually takes around three years, if the players are then shown to be good enough they could sign for Charlton, if they are not good enough for that level then they could stay with Beerschot, or they could go somewhere else.

"This has the advantage of Beerschot getting some immediate player benefits with Charlton potentially benefiting further down the line, while there are also clauses within the agreement regarding financial compensation for both clubs in the event of any transfer.”

At the end of the 2006/07 season, one former ASEC player, Soro Bakary, had been placed at Beerschot, and the agreement also includes exchanges at youth academy, management and commercial level.

Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen were founded in 1999 when two other clubs, Beerschot and Germinal Ekeren, merged.

Beerschot had a long and rich history in Belgium and won the league on seven occasions, taking the title three years in succession between 1924-26, and finishing runners-up seven more times.

And while Germinal couldn't match their new partner's league record, they were perhaps the more dominant side in more recent times, lifting the Belgian Cup in 1997 following a 4-2 win against Anderlecht after extra-time. Germinal also finished runners-up in 1990 and 95, while Beerschot lifted the trophy in 1971 and 79.

Germinal Beerschot landed the 2005 cup when they beat league champions Club Brugge 2-1 in the final despite their goalkeeper suffering a broken rib midway through the match, and went on to compete in the UEFA Cup the following season.