Youth development structure, working practices, and philosophies of top-level football clubs: A pan European perspective

OBJECTIVE Professional- clubs are investing in youth development. Developing young players may reap both sport-ing and financial rewards. Specifically, football clubs must reduce the risks of investment in youth training and devel-opment. This study was part of a research project that explored the youth development working practices of elite level professional football clubs from a Pan European perspective. Moreover, this study identified and explored the organisa-tional structure, working practices, and philosophies regarding the development of young players. METHODS Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Head of Youth Development within top-level clubs (n=19) across countries in Europe (n=4). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed utilising the principles of content analysis. Interviews were supplemented with additional information sourced directly from club administrators and club web sites. RESULTS Different macro organizational structures were evidenced. Many clubs have the same staff, but there ap-pears to be a differentiation of the operationalisation of each role within different clubs. The main objective is to pro-duce players for the 1st team however, in Sweden, the clubs presented also a more national orientation. The communi-cation between the 1st team and the youth team staff proved difficult. DISCUSSION Young players would benefit from a structured and coherent development approach with elements of socio-psychological support (Richardson et al., 2004), however the findings of this study showed difficulty in the com-munication between the 1st team and the youth team staff that may hinder a successful transition of the young players (Wylleman et al., 2004). Such communication difficulties were an element of staff dissatisfaction.