Romanian Football Federation visits LALIGA to explore best practices in club services and football development

A delegation from the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) visited LALIGA’s headquarters in Madrid to learn first-hand about different strategic areas of the Spanish football ecosystem, with a particular focus on club services, football development, academies and long-term sustainability.

The visit was organised within the framework of the FRF’s Professional Club Services initiative, a strategic project through which the federation aims to strengthen the support it provides to professional clubs and elite academies in Romania. In this context, the Romanian delegation held working sessions with several LALIGA departments to better understand the structures, methodologies and tools that support Spanish professional football clubs both on and off the pitch.

Among the topics addressed during the meetings were the role and structure of the LALIGA Clubs Office, the lessons and outcomes derived from the Boost LALIGA project, and different models related to organisational development, infrastructures, internationalisation and long-term sustainability for clubs. They also learnt about how LALIGA Business School, LALIGA’s education department, operates.

The delegation also exchanged views with representatives from LALIGA’s Football Projects area, where information was shared on player development, performance environments, technical support structures, data usage and decision-making processes applied within professional football and youth development systems in Spain. In addition, they also had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the LALIGA’s National Youth Academies Plan, a 10-year plan designed to develop all the youth academies of LALIGA’s clubs to the highest standard through objectives in areas such as technology, professionalisation or academic support.

The sessions highlighted LALIGA’s leadership in youth development and academy football. According to the CIES Football Observatory, 7 of the top 10 clubs across Europe’s Big Five leagues with the highest percentage of minutes played by homegrown players belong to LALIGA, including the clubs ranked first, third and fourth overall. Furthermore, 3 LALIGA clubs are among the top 5 teams in the Big Five leagues that have developed and promoted the highest number of players to elite professional football, reinforcing the international recognition of the Spanish academy model. In line with this strong talent development capacity, LALIGA also leads Europe in young one-on-one specialists, with 8 of the top 20 under-23 dribblers in the Big Five leagues currently playing for LALIGA clubs.

Throughout the visit, both organisations discussed the importance of balancing strategic central support with the specific realities and needs of clubs, while exploring different ways in which leagues and federations can collaborate to strengthen the professional football ecosystem.

“We are very pleased to welcome the Romanian Football Federation to LALIGA. This visit has been an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and perspectives on how to support clubs in an increasingly demanding football industry. We believe both organisations can learn from each other and continue strengthening the relationship between Romanian and Spanish football,” said Esteban Casado, delegate of LALIGA in Romania.