The LaLiga Grassroots initiative has just reached a spectacular milestone of over 640 projects led by 900 LaLiga coaches in almost 50 countries, more than 200,000 athletes and more than 25,000 coaches trained in the LaLiga Methodology.
La Liga’s youth academies are recognised as the best among the major European leagues, and the elements that have made them leaders are brought together in the Methodology which the organisation promotes in its projects.
LaLiga has begun 2023 by reaching a milestone with LaLiga Grassroots, the initiative under which it brings together the know-how, experience and projects to promote grassroots football all over the world.
The project has now developed more than 640 permanent and temporary projects in 48 countries, from introductory to high performance, and led by more than 900 of the best Spanish youth football coaches, selected for their high qualifications (university graduates, UEFA Pro licensed coaches), national and international experience and values in line with LaLiga, including empathy, effort, and adaptability. Over 22,000 local coaches and more than 200,000 international players of various ages and levels have been trained in this Methodology throughout the different LaLiga centres and projects spanning the five continents. LaLiga is a pioneer among the major European leagues in creating a network of academies, schools and training projects for players and coaches around the world focused on the comprehensive development of international talent thanks to its own Methodology, which combines the elements that make the clubs' youth academies a global reference.
LaLiga teams dominate the rankings of the best youth academies in Europe put together by prestigious institutions such as the CIES Football Observatory, the leading organisation for bringing together European football data. Athletic Club, FC Barcelona, RC Celta, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, CA Osasuna, Real Sociedad, and Valencia CF all feature in the Top 15 teams of the five big European leagues that gave most playing time to home-grown players during the 2021/22 season, with an exclusively Spanish podium made up of Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, and RC Celta. Atlético de Madrid, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Valencia CF also feature in this season’s top 15 most productive youth academies among the five major European leagues.
Within the five big European leagues, LaLiga leads the rankings by some margin: during the first half of the current season, youth players had played 15.8% of the minutes in the competition, compared to 12.4% in Ligue 1, 11.8% in the Premier League, and, some way back, 7.1% in the Bundesliga and 5.5% in Serie A, making LaLiga the leading example of grassroots football in Europe.
The LaLiga Methodology integrates many of the elements that have made LaLiga Grassroots a global benchmark, and many LaLiga Grassroots coaches have club experience, helping to export this shared LaLiga brand know-how. The clubs; youth academies also participate in many international LaLiga Grassroots projects, with matches.
