European Football Clubs Expand Influence in Global Youth Development
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?
I'd be interested to see how American youth would react to joining these youth academies. Most American youth who are athletes play several sports oftentimes all the way through high school and in some rare cases such as Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders into their pro career. However there has been a trend of specialization which has led many athletes to begin focusing on one sport. Whereas in Europe where soccer is king, it's no surprise that kids are fine only playing it, but in the US I'd be surprised if many would be interested in committing to it at such a young age. Additionally, there are many stories of athletes taking skills from other sports and using them to excel such as Tony Gonzalez playing college basketball before becoming a star NFL tight end, so I'd be curious if only playing one sport from a young age is actually the best policy to mold the best soccer players.
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DeleteBrian I agree with you that it will be very interesting to see the reaction of the American youth, but for a different reason. The pathway of high school and then college is so entrenched in our society that I feel like most people would not or do not even consider an academy as an option. MLS clubs have their own academies but they are significantly less of a time investment than European academies as the American students still go to their regular high school. They simply practice more often and play games on weekends.
DeleteI also agree with you that more kids in the US play multiple sport, but I am with Ryan on this one because I think there are plenty of kids look to become great at one sport and anyone who might be interested in joining an academy is in that boat.
I agree how important it is that clubs see the importance of entering countries around the world with high numbers of athletes. It is in these cases we are seeing more clubs finding the "needle in the haystack" type of players. I do question your comment that these kids play multiple sports. In the cases of the most elite players, their single sport focus is instilled at a young age. Looking at the success of Spain's national team in 2010, we can see the importance of playing with teammates for decades. -Bryce&Joe
DeleteAll interesting points, I'm a bit confused however on your point Eric since if they don't live there then what differentiates these academies from club teams which are already incredibly popular in America? There are club teams for youth in America that kids play for when their high school season isn't going on. These clubs are typically more rigorous then high school teams and have levels for kids from all ages. I'd be curious how these academies would displace these clubs since they sound fairly similar.
DeleteI am curious to see how NCAA soccer responds to the growth of these academies. It often seems that university-level soccer is lower level, and if top talents join academies on the path to professional careers the NCAA may lose quality athletes. On the other hand, academy graduates that don't make professional squads may join NCAA teams, boosting talent and experience at that level. I think that if academies can greatly improve the quality of soccer played in America, interest in the sport by from American youth will greatly increase.
DeleteBrian, I am not an expert on the academy teams I am speaking about so I apologize if I am wrong on this but a couple of kids I knew participated in them and the impression that I got was that they were a step closer to European academy teams than a traditional club team in the states, however, kids still lived at home and went to whatever school they wanted to. Unlike club teams though, kids in these academies were unable to play sports for their high school and only played soccer for their academy year round. As they are connected with MLS teams I would also assume they have access to more resources and possibly better coaching and a more professional environment than a typical club team. Again that isn't something I know for sure but just my impression.
DeleteMakes sense, thank you for clarifying. I'm definitely curious how playing with only one team helps not only develop players better, but also the team. I know we discussed in class how many top European teams have played together for years. I'd be curious if America's issue is lack of chemistry rather than lack of talent or development. I know that the US Olympic basketball team, despite being full of stars doesn't dominate like most would expect because they don't know how to play together whereas top European basketball teams have played together for years. Maybe our problem is a lack of chemistry that these academies could help counter.
Delete-Brian
Brian that is an interesting point. I do think there is something to be said for that, but I think that chemistry becomes an issue once you reach a certain level of talent. The American basketball team has not lost in over 10 years. That is because the talent in the US is miles ahead of the rest of the world. The reason there are some close games though is because of the chemistry of the other countries. The US soccer program has neither. I think the most important part is improving talent level and then focusing on how to create greater cohesion among the program.
DeleteThis is both interesting and exciting for young soccer players in the United States. Even though FC Barcelona plays in another country, it seems like they still have a prominent presence in the US as well because of their great skill. Ever since I have bee in Barcelona, any guy from the US who is the least bit interested in soccer or even sports in general has been super excited to attend a FC Barcelona soccer match, most likely because they have some of the best players in the world. Therefore, FC Barcelona coming to the US is huge for young fans! I also think that this is a very strategic entrance for the club as they can expand their influence even more throughout the world and potentially gain some very important players. I believe that as soon as other clubs start to see any kind of further success for FC Barcelona, they will begin to try to expand into the US or other countries as well in order to compete. This may be the beginning of an important way to gain new members for European teams.
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DeleteHow interesting is it that El Classico 2017 was played in Miami! That certainly shows soccer's international importance. I agree with your comment about US being drawn to FC Barca! The national pride and atmosphere at Camp Nou during games is an experience that coming to Europe is all about. Having almost 100,000 fans screaming for their team, (and Cataluña) just isn't apart of our sports tradition.
DeleteFurthermore, its so interesting how our sports culture includes events aside from the game itself. (I.e. tailgates, half time shows, cheerleaders, intermission giveaways.)
-Bryce&Joe
I think that the academy structure of Europe is very close to taking root in the United States and clubs like FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich partnering up with youth teams is a great start. Im from Philadelphia, and the MLS team in my city, the Philadelphia Union, already has a residential academy that brings kids in from around the country and even international kids to play for them. It has become a pipeline for the first team with several youth academy kids signing pro contracts in recent months. I do think that it clashes with the traditional multi sport American kid, however, with the popularity of soccer growing in the United States I think that more and more kids are moving towards specializing in one sport. I also think that if the United States is ever going to win a World Cup it is has to start with homegrown players and I think this is a great start.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in terms of international success for our national team, investing in more academy style development programs is key. Because as of right now, the best youth programs are in Europe, but when young stars like Pulisic get sent to Dortmund, there are still some Americans who get upset that we ¨lost one.¨ I believe we need to reevaluate the way we think about sending potential stars to elite youth programs like Dortmund, where they will receive better training and increase their value to our national team as well. At the same time, partnering with already established programs is a strategy that I think will pay off in the future.
DeleteCole, you make some good points but I would have to say I disagree with you. I believe that the multisport athlete plays such a pivotal role in American sport culture that the academy structure won't be able to make a transition. Because there are so many sports that are so popular in the states, growing up kids are playing anywhere between 2 to 4 sports and they stick with these sports usually all the way up to the high school level. In our society I think it is stressed on our kids to try different sports and practice different skills so that you can become a dynamic athlete with many different talents and attributes. I still don't think soccer is as popular as people think in the states, most kids end up quitting at some point in elementary or middle school from my experiences. In my opinion the reason why the academy structure works in Europe is because soccer tops all other sports by a huge margin.
DeleteI am interested to see how this growth of single sport specialization and spread of youth academies impacts the popularity of soccer in the United States. I think that the academies could potentially hurt soccer if elite soccer academies turn the sport into an elitist, high-class specialized entity. However, if the academies can reach out into all classes of American youth, they have the potential to greatly increase participation in soccer and commitment to it, much like AAU basketball has done for athletes wishing to participate at a higher level.
DeleteThis is an interesting day development growing in the states. It seems European sports are tending to take some aspects of American sports more than vice versa, but this is one example of the US trying to implement European methods. I am curious if this will work in the United States given our sports culture. It will Be interesting to see as more academies come how the interact with local governing bodies like the NCAA. As of now, playing in college and pro are the elite paths for athletes, so it will be interesting as more academies come if that could be a new path.
ReplyDeleteI’m also excited to see how this affects the national team long term. It was be interesting to see if the United States will be able to develop more local talent long term.
-alison
I think its pretty exciting to see a top tier team expand its interest into the United States. In America football (soccer) has always been a less popular sport but I believe with moves like this being made to improve the development of US players it will have a huge impact on the sports popularity in years to come. Hopefully this will make the MLS gain more popularity as well. With the concussion crisis surrounding American Football and less parents letting their children play American Football at a young age, I believe that football will make a big climb in popularity in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteMichael Strode