An Inside Look at Real Sociedad & Athletic Bilbao's Youth Soccer Academies

Homegrown talents required in the top professional team means acute focus on youth development

Spain’s soccer clubs tend to have a home bias. Two clubs come to mind immediately… Athletic Bilbao & Real Sociedad from the Basque region in Northern Spain.

Both clubs have a policy of playing players from their region. This could be recruiting players from other Basque clubs or developing young players through their youth academy.

With such a strict policy, the clubs must develop their own to the highest standard. And they’ve done it well… Athletic Bilbao has never played a season outside of the top level and Real Sociedad has only spent one spell in the 2nd tier in the last 50+ years. Both have won the Spanish Cup competition in the past five years, with Real Sociedad winning in 2019-20 and Athletic Bilbao in 2023-24.

How do they continue to develop top talents year in and year out?