Atlanta United FC: Building a Strong Youth Academy

With the recent announcement of Atlanta United FC‘s new training facility, the organization can go ahead and begin focusing on other factors.

-= Atlanta United FC: Three Front Office Keys to Success =-

These factors vary from who they will hire as head coach and assistant coach, to who they will hire for their physio team and training staff. One of the most important factors (and what matters to fans) is which players United will ultimately sign in the future.

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Some big names have already come out and stated they can see themselves playing in MLS before the end of their careers (Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Luiz to name a few). However with the MLS’ hard Salary Cap, it is unrealistic to think that United FC will be signing multiple big names, even with Arthur Blank’s massive bankroll. So how does Atlanta United FC field a competitive team against a low, hard salary cap? Our technical director Carlos Bocanegra has the answer: build a strong youth academy in the Atlanta region.

“The academy is very important to us in a salary capped league like MLS. When you can get a homegrown guy, you benefit with the salary cap and it also means you’ve done a pretty good job of helping to develop local talent”- Carlos Bocanegra on Atlanta United FC’s Youth Academy.

As Technical Director, Bocanegra deals with non-coaching day-to-day operations, like the building and integrating of our youth academy. A well-balanced and deep youth academy will be priceless for United. It will provide the club with players they can comfortably pull up to the first team, as well as players that they can profit from by trading them away to other MLS teams.

To see the results of a good youth academy look no further than the Seattle Sounders or the L.A. Galaxy. Their youth academies are a key pillar to their clubs’ success, both in the short-term (Seattle) and in the long-term (L.A.). Bocanegra realizes that one of the first steps needed to achieve success on the pitch is to build Atlanta United FC a strong youth academy.

Unlike some other MLS clubs, Atlanta United FC has a huge regional market as a major recruiting advantage. Aside from a few teams located relatively near Atlanta (mainly Orlando SC), United FC will have a wide array of players to choose from. There will be more players to put through the academy when more kids begin to gravitate toward soccer as their first choice of sport. With the growth of the soccer in the region, United can take advantage of its central location in the Southeast to pick the cream of the crop.

"“According to the 2014 ESPN Sports Poll, a survey of more than 400,000 people that measure sports fandom, professional soccer ranked as the No. 2 sport, behind pro football, among 12 to 17-year-olds”"

As of today, United are taking the right steps in making sure that they will be successful. A great youth academy will only help them out, but it won’t happen overnight, and Bocanegra understands this, “It doesn’t always happen overnight but our long-term vision is to develop homegrown players and have a feeder system”. With a top-flight academy in place, it won’t take long before we start seeing homegrown talent rising through the ranks of the MLS.

Next: Atlanta United FC Unveils New Practice Facility

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