Spain won the World Cup with a young and dominant team, formed by players like Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Pedri, Cubarsí, and Cucurella, all coming from the youth academies of Spanish clubs. The world title is not only the result of a talented generation, but of a structured process of developing young athletes in La Liga.
The strategy began after the victorious era of the Spanish national team, with Euro Championship titles in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010. According to Juan Florit Zapata, Director of the Sports Projects Department of La Liga, there was an internal reflection at the time: the leaders realized that, without planning, Spain would fall behind other countries in the next decade.
Florit explained that, until then, there was no joint strategy in Spain to work on the training system and strengthen the development of young talents in a unified way among the clubs.
Faced with this realization, the National Youth Categories Plan began to be designed, which was officially launched in 2022, establishing guidelines and bases for the coordinated development of players in the youth categories of all La Liga clubs.
