Is Youth Development Just a Cost?
From a business perspective, many people view youth development programs as simply a cost center for professional clubs.
This might be the common perception among Japanese sports organizations. While everyone talks about the importance of youth development and genuinely believes in it, when looking at club management from a financial standpoint, considering daily cash flow and budget constraints, it’s hard to shake the view that youth programs are primarily expenses.
However, this perspective doesn’t apply to Benfica, the comprehensive sports club from Portugal.
Over just the past three years in the transfer market, Benfica has earned approximately 40 billion yen (roughly $300 million USD) from player sales.
For this club, their youth development program is clearly a profitable “money tree.”
While I don’t like thinking about youth development as merely a money-making tool, it’s undeniable that the profits generated from transfer fees are being reinvested into improving their development environment, which enables them to continue producing exceptional players.
Benfica’s youth academy holds tremendous appeal and offers valuable lessons for coaches worldwide.
Benfica Academy Philosophy
What philosophy drives Benfica’s academy operations?
“Our mission is to develop young players through the best methodology and development principles, with a well-unified development organization, and through ‘Benfica identity.'”
– Pedro Marques (Benfica Academy Technical Director)
Unlike many academy philosophies that tend to be vague and abstract (including some self-reflection here), Benfica’s philosophy conveys a strong sense of purpose. You can clearly understand what they value most, and it resonates powerfully – it simply “hits home.”
Four Key Processes
Let me outline Benfica Academy’s key processes, incorporating my own interpretation. There are four main processes:
- Talent
- Development Methods
- Competition
- Opportunity
1. Talent
The primary focus is discovering players with talent. Secondary to this is the academy’s responsibility to provide the time and environment (including football training and lifestyle support) necessary for that talent to flourish. The key understanding is that “Talent” as a process doesn’t end with discovery – it includes the complete development and refinement of that talent.
2. Development Methods
The academy doesn’t view development narrowly as “just football training.” Instead, they embrace a holistic and professional approach. Beyond coaching staff, they employ psychology specialists, doctors, nutritionists, academic supporters, and other professionals. They consider every aspect of daily life and school as part of the “development environment.”
3. Competition
This involves providing optimal competitive and match environments for each player based on their abilities, characteristics, physical maturity, and performance level. Sometimes players are promoted to higher categories, but they may also be moved to lower categories to play. Based on objective evaluation, they provide the optimal “competitive” environment for each player’s development.
4. Opportunity
The philosophy of providing sufficient playing opportunities for every player. Specifically, they create B-teams so more players can participate in matches. They design environments where each player can gain match experience at their appropriate level.
What We Can Learn from Benfica
Can anyone immediately replicate what Benfica Academy is doing?
Honestly, many aspects would be challenging to implement directly.
However, there’s much to learn, and I believe we can adapt and try implementing these concepts within our own coaching environments.
Simply copying what these international big clubs do won’t work, and even if it were possible, it would likely fail because the national and team cultures and environments are fundamentally different.
The key isn’t to imitate, but to learn from their thinking and approach. And what comes next is even more important:
Don’t fear failure, let’s do it!
References and Sources
Primary Sources:
- Training Ground Guru – “Pedro Marques: The four pillars of Benfica’s Academy“
- CBS Sports – “Champions League: Why Benfica’s secret to success lies in their search for the next big youth academy star” (February 22, 2022)
- SL Benfica Official Website – “Pedro Marques is the new technical director of youth football” (2018)
- Jobs In Football – “Talent Factory: How Do Benfica Develop So Many World Class Players?“
Keywords: youth volleyball development, academy training methods, talent identification, holistic athlete development, competitive environment design, player opportunity creation, international coaching philosophy, youth sports academy management
