MADRID, 29 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
LaLiga’s National Youth Academy Improvement and Optimization Plan has completed one year with most of the indicators established for the first phase between 50-80 percent compliance on average, with growth of 20 percent since its implementation.” The employers reported in a statement on Monday.
“The collective effort of the clubs, both in the creation and development of the plan, is exceeding the expectations of this 10-year plan that seeks to consolidate LaLiga’s leadership in youth academy matters, establish a sustainable growth model and shorten distances between clubs, increasing competitiveness and democratizing competition”, applauded LaLiga.
Based on the results and conclusions of the first year of life of this plan, almost a hundred youth managers from LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs met at the VII Youth Academy Meeting, hosted by Sevilla FC and the Ramón Stadium Sánchez-Pizjuán as a stage.
For the person in charge of Sports Projects in LaLiga, Juan Florit, assured that the “differential point” of this plan is “that it is born from a leadership position”. “We are looking to further promote an area where we are strong. The satisfactory results of this first season show that the clubs are committed to investing in the youth academy, although we must remember that it is a long-term plan and we will see the most marked results from 2025,” he explained.
“This is just the beginning, we seek to lay the foundations that allow us to achieve even more important results and milestones in the medium and long term,” he said.
The employers stand out and point out that the quarries “are already a collective brand of the” Spanish clubs, which “constantly lead the world rankings and are making an intensive effort to grow and share best practices.” “This helps to compensate and reformulate objectives to adapt them to the heterogeneity of clubs. The collective effort to create a club model compatible with sustainable growth and Fair Play is paying off,” said the entity’s director of competitions, Luis Gil.
The official data from this first year of the plan show that LaLiga leads “both in opportunities and value of homegrown players in the Spanish competition itself and in terms of quality professional players exported to the 5 major leagues.”
In the 22-23 season, the homegrown players have played 17.2 percent of the minutes in the competition, compared to 12.4 percent in Ligue 1, 11.4 in the Premier League, and much further behind. the 7.9 in the Bundesliga or the 5.6 in Serie A, making LaLiga “the great reference in grassroots football in Europe and the one that gives its youth players the most opportunities (CIES data up to May 2, 2023) “.
In addition, LaLiga Santander is the competition with the highest percentage of homegrown players in the 5 major European leagues: 21.21 percent of the total number of players. Homegrown players also account for the highest percentage of total value among the major leagues with 22.44 percent of total market value, followed by the Premier (14.54), Ligue 1 (13.64), the Bundesliga ( 12) and Series A (8.7).
According to CIES data, LaLiga is the competition with the most youth players in the 5 major European leagues this season, with a total of 289 players from 16 different clubs in the ‘Top 100’ of clubs with the most productive youth youth teams: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Valencia, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Espanyol, Villarreal, Celta, Sevilla, Osasuna, Rayo Vallecano, Mallorca, Real Betis, Real Valladolid and Málaga.
All the indicators and objectives have grown by an average of 20 percent this first year of the plan, according to LaLiga data, based on five pillars: the structure and development of professionals, infrastructures and resources, the training model and transfer to the competition, comprehensive care to the player, and development and transfer to professional football.