Are European Football Academies Good or Bad?

       Soccer is a game of love. Soccer is a game of passion. People play the game of soccer to be apart of something bigger. Soccer is game which stretches across generations, cultures, and genders. For such a beloved sport, youth should be taught to appreciate the game for the values it embodies, and the character it builds. BUT for the youth academy system in the United States, monetary incentives are pushing clubs to train their kids for different motives. Negative Externalities of a Winning Mindset For the elite youth clubs, winning is everything. When deciding on a club, parents of prospective talent don't have any other metrics to compare with, so all they know is the balance on the scorecard. More importantly, winning international tournaments pays out well for the club and the coaches. This creates a positive feedback loop. As top clubs continually get the winning players, they get the winning teams. This motivation for winning causes coaches t...

Does money has an influence on a kid’s opportunity to be picked up by elite European Clubs?           It’s not uncommon for families to have to alter their lives, careers, and families to adjust to the lifestyle that’s required from academies such as La Masia. Is it easier for the financially stable to invest into this life change? Very few of the young recruits even make it to the second team, and a many get cut before 18. With parents knowing this Do they see their child becoming the next Christiano Ronaldo? OR do they just want their kid to get the experience? Families may have a hard time re-rooting after leaving everything to follow their kid on their quest to be the very best.                    Thousands of hours logged on the pitch, and years of their adolescence dedicated to a single sport. Football. The years spent at the academies fundamentally alters their chil...

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/oct/06/football-biggest-issue-boys-rejected-academies This article not only goes into educational flaws within the european football academy systems but also the mental issues surrounding the players who are members or former members of footballing academies. The author of the article, David Conn identifies issues such as pressure to succeed, travel, lack of education, and lack of nurturing as contributing factors to these (ex)players psychological duress. These mental strains have led to devastating consequences for youth footballers who have grown up in the academy system. In March of 2013, a player who was released from his club's academy program committed suicide at the age of 16. The article is titled "football's biggest issue" but this topic seems to rarely reach headlines in the footballing world.  Why do you think "football's biggest issue" is rarely talked about?  What can football clubs and a...

The San Diego Unified School District will be the first school district in the US to team up with FC Barcelona's FCBescola soccer academy this year. This news comes less than a week before MLS's FC Dallas and Bundesliga's FC Bayern announce a partnership at the youth development level. FC Dallas boasts the highest proportion of youth academy players on their team, with 20, while Bayern Munich is proud of developing stars such as Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels and David Alaba through their youth programs. (pictured above: Muller, Hummels, and Alaba) It's obvious that elite football clubs in Europe are starting to realize the importance of expanding their influence over youth development around the world. Will other clubs see these partnerships as a threat, and if so, how will they respond?

  9 &Under?  The current age for any child to join a football academy is 9 years of age. This current regulation is a very general law and teams with wealth often find cleaver ways around it. As early as possible these clubs introduce "development programs" to cater to the youngest of players. It is here where coaches and scouts will get there first glimpses of the kids. The main goal at this age is not to preform at the highest of levels or gain stardom, but instead, to learn to play as a team and begin to understand the ins and outs of such a complex sport. Obedience is taught to run through their veins.   In the 21st century, athletes are every child's role model. Famous athletes are everywhere in society and have an impact on all ages. Young kids look up to athletes as hero's, and hold them to almost a superhero status. The comparison can be drawn to how rock stars were as rock-stars were 40 years ago. Children have such a passion for these athlet...

FC Barcelona's elite La Masia youth academy has been losing top players in the last few years, despite possessing a first team that some say is once in a generation.  However, this may be a common trend for the richest club's in football. Team's who don't have the financial resources compared to giants like FC Barcelona, may have more incentive to take risks on homegrown players. With the likes of Messi, Pique, Busquets, and Iniesta, La Masia graduates dominate first team playing time, giving prospective youth talent less hope of getting the chance at some first team minutes. It may be correlated that other wealthy power houses have had problems producing talent of their own. Manchester United, for example, hasn't produced anyone of genuine quality since the Class of 1992, boasting David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville. While having more money and success on the field doesn't necessarily mean these clubs are putting l...