The J.League has entered into a two-year partnership with the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, both organisations announced on Monday.

Through the agreement, the school’s McCormack Department of Sport Management will supply course material and conduct online courses for students enrolled in the J.League Human Capital Project (JHC) hosted at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

The JHC, launched in 2015, is a program intended to develop the next generation of Japanese sports executives. Top students in the class will be offered career opportunities at J.League clubs.

“We want to give them a U.S. perspective on best practices and trends in the industry at the graduate level,” said associate professor Steve McKelvey, who visited Japan last month in order to give a special lecture to the current JHC class.

“[The J.League] are looking at ways to expand this program and the J.League in other markets in Asia.”