La Liga's ambitious academy plan was not born out of failure, stagnation or any great Spanish footballing crisis. Quite simply, Spain wanted to keep winning.
It was the 'Tiki-Taka' of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets that helped Spain conquer Europe, the world and then Europe once again. Behind the scenes, Spain wanted the good times to keep on rolling. In 2015, La Liga started to develop a plan "for the optimisation and improvement of youth academies".
Why Spain Refused to Rest on Its Laurels
Speaking to the world's media earlier this week, Juan Florit explained: "The reflection we had at that time was: OK, we are not bad. We are in a good position."
"We are a reference for many colleagues in different countries. But if we think that this will be enough for the first decade, sooner or later we will be behind other countries."
The concern was that Spain could be left behind if it did not kick on after its international success. Spain, Florit explained, had plenty of excellent individual academies, but there was no overarching strategy bringing them together.
Building the National Academies Plan
La Liga started working with clubs individually, spending the first few years building relationships. Training programmes and other initiatives followed, gradually laying the foundations for what would become the National Academies Plan.
The plan, presented in 2022, outlined issues and areas for improvement with a collective vision. Instead of creating one national curriculum, La Liga wanted clubs to work together while retaining their own individual identities.
The plan was built around five key areas: infrastructure and resources, comprehensive care for the player, development and transition to professional football, training methodology and the professional development of academy staff.
Developing People as Well as Players
Florit made clear this was not just about finding Spain's next star — it was about developing youngsters as people as well as footballers. "Personally, the more I see, the more I learn, the more academies I visit and the more different profiles of players I see, the more I believe that it is important to work on everything at all stages."
Florit believes that means resisting the temptation to specialise too early, with technical, tactical and physical development all playing a role throughout a player's journey in their early years. However, he was clear on one aspect that should never change: it is always about the long-term goal and not short-term success.
The plan cannot take credit for Spain's latest World Cup win, but it does back up the points Florit was keen to convey. It is about looking forward and not sitting on success — and there will be no measurable success for some time. In the meantime, it is about getting clubs to work together to develop the best possible players. The ultimate goal is not just to produce one golden generation, but to produce another, and another after that.
