In 2020, Spanish First Division clubs invested an average of 3.4 million euros in the development of the lower categories, according to a study released Thursday by UEFA.
A figure that places Spain in fifth position in the ranking of the countries that spend the most money on average per club in the development and training of new talents, led by England with an average of 6.1 million euros.
After the English First Division teams are the German teams, which invested an average of 5.3 million euros for the development of the lower categories
Behind England and Germany They include France, whose First Division teams averaged an investment of 4.7 million euros, and Italy, where top-flight clubs spent 4.6 million on average in the development of grassroots football.
The economic uncertainty generated by the coronavirus pandemic has endowed, as UEFA points out in its report, of “greater importance than ever” to the investment made by clubs in training new talent. “With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic casting an uncertain future on football finances, high-quality youth development and investment in infrastructure to support player development is arguably more important than ever.”, said UEFA.
An idea that seems to have penetrated more than ever in First Division clubs across Europe, as reflected in the number of 870 million that will be invested in 2020 in the development of the lower categories.
In this sense, the German First Division teams are the ones that seem most concerned about the development of their “quarries”. As evidenced by the fact, according to the data provided by the UEFA report, that up to 12 of the 18 Bundesliga clubs allocated a budget of more than 5 million euros for the development of their lower categories.
For its part, 9 are the English First Division clubs that exceeded the 5 million barrier, for the 8 that did so in France, the 7 that exceeded it in Italy or the 6 teams that crossed it in Spain.
Solidarity payments
The clubs are not, however, the only ones willing to contribute financially to the development of new footballers, an area in which UEFA plays a fundamental role through solidarity payments.
In fact, the amount of the solidarity payments made by the European Federation to the teams participating in competitions not belonging to the development of the lower categories has “exceeded 1,000 euros in the last decade”. These payments, that have passed From the 43 million in the 2008/2009 season to the 139 in the 2018/2019 season, they have benefited a total of 1,629 different clubs in the last ten years.
Facilities
An important part of the money invested by the clubs in the development of grassroots football has been allocated to the construction or modernization of the facilities where new footballers are trained.
Section in which, as stated in the UEFA report, the clubs of the first European divisions have invested a figure of more than 1,000 million euros.
Thus, in the last two years, A total of 53 top-level clubs from 33 different countries have opened new training centers and, as UEFA emphasizes, “at least 27 other new centers are currently being developed”.