Youth academy

Most youth systems attached exclusively to one club are often called youth academies. In a youth academy, a club will sign multiple players at a very young age and teach them football skills required to play at that club’s level and style of football. Clubs are often restricted to recruiting locally based youngsters, but some larger clubs such as Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Chelsea have recruited foreign talent, leading to the formation of specialist recruiters such as the La Liga Youth Brokerage.

Many of the larger clubs in Europe such as Ajax and Feyenoord in the Netherlands, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, Benfica, Sporting CP and Porto in Portugal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in England, FC Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 in Germany, among many others, are regarded as having some of the finest youth academies and have produced many players regarded as some of the best in world football.

Other clubs such as Brazilian club Grêmio and São Paulo, Espanyol in Spain, Atalanta of Italy and English clubs Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Watford, Aston Villa and West Ham United, while not as financially successful as others, have a world class academy. West Ham’s youth academy is known as The Academy of Football and has produced many English talents that have gone on to play with larger clubs in the Premier League.

Another example is lower league clubs who have produced high quality players through the academy and sold them to keep the club running. A prime example of this is Crewe Alexandra who under Dario Gradi and his staff nurtured players into high quality players such as Danny Murphy and Dean Ashton and sold them.

An alternative name for a youth academy is “Centre of Excellence”. In English football these terms have distinct meanings and are licensed and regulated by The Football Association and The Football League.