"It is the first venture of its kind by any major football club in Vietnam, a country which is renowned for its love of football," said Arsenal Managing Director Keith Edelman.

"We are delighted to have found a partner who shares the same goals of developing local game at all levels and agree to provide foundations for the Club to have a genuine presence in the region," he added.

The deal covers the establishment and operation of an Arsenal elite football academy in Vietnam, technical support for the HAGL football team and various commercial, marketing and business support for the Vietnamese club.

Arsenal will also use the partnership as an opportunity to further develop club-related marketing and merchandising initiatives in Vietnam.

The British club will invite HAGL technical staff to its Hertfordshire training centre to study training methods and, in turn will send representatives to Vietnam to help the Vietnamese partner in certain periods.

Construction of the HAGL-Arsenal academy started in Ham Rong, Pleiku City of central highlands Gia Lai province on March 5, with total investment of US$4 million.