[1][2] In contrast to most professional sports in the United States where the high school and collegiate system is responsible for developing young sports people, most football and basketball clubs, especially in Europe and Latin America, take responsibility for developing their own players of the future.
These academies typically have a higher cost of capital incurred for maintaining an optimal environment for practice as well as cups and other competitions that may be partaken.
Underage players may sign youth contracts with the club or association that owns the elite academy.
Schools may offer sports focused programmes in order to integrate their student experiences with the academies of affiliation.
[6] Many of the larger football clubs in Europe such as Ajax and Feyenoord in the Netherlands, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, and Real Madrid in Spain, Benfica, Sporting CP, and Porto in Portugal, Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain in France, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea in England, FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Schalke 04 in Germany, among many others, are regarded as having some of the finest youth academies and have produced many players regarded as some of the best in world football.
Other clubs, such as the Brazilian teams Grêmio and São Paulo, Espanyol in Spain, Atalanta, Inter Milan, and AC Milan of Italy, and English clubs Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Watford, Aston Villa, and West Ham United, while not as financially successful as others, have a world class academy.
Financing of the Soviet youth system was conducted by clubs such as Dynamo Kyiv, Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow, and other clubs, and also through major industrial Soviet state enterprises such as PA Yuzhmash, Black Sea Shipping Company, Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, and other enterprises.
Historically, hockey followed a similar model to association football in that professional teams owned junior teams to develop youth talent (examples including the Montreal Junior Canadiens and Toronto Marlboros) to which they would retain territorial rights; this system was phased out in 1967 in favor of a draft system.
The National Football League operates two youth academies, one at Loughborough University in England and the other at A.