The VCF Academy is ending season that has been special for many reasons. The philosophy of values and courage has been a daily focus, and brought success in the objective of training footballers and educating people.

Debutants with the first team

On the 30th anniversary year of the Ciudad Deportiva, the VCF Academy has remained faithful to its mission: Training players for the first team and for professional football.

Six players have debuted this season in official competition with the first team - César Tárrega, Rubén Iranzo, Cristhian Mosquera, Javi Guerra, Jesús Santiago Yellu and Mario Domínguez- bringing the number of players who, having previously played in VCF Academy teams, have played with Valencia CF in these 30 years to 107.

The VCF Academy reinforced its position as one of the best in Europe in the training of players for the elite, as shown by the latest reports from the CIES Football Observatory -with 25 players from the VCF Academy competing in Europe's 5 major leagues.

Integration of the VCF Femenino

The integration of all women's teams into the structure of the VCF Academy has also borne fruit, with the players training and competing under the same conditions as men's teams.

Five players from the VCF Academy have debuted with the VCF Femenino first team in an official match this year: Elena Gil, Irune Cervera, Saray López, Irene Guillem and Emma Rose, in addition to other players who, having debuted last season, have reinforced their presence in the first team -like Olga San Nicolás and Ainhoa ​​Alguacil.

Internationals

The good work of the VCF Academy has also been shown in the call-ups for Spain at youth level.

During this season, Rubén Iranzo, Cristhian Mosquera, Javi Guerra, Jesús Santiago Yellu, Yarek Gasiorowski, Raúl Jiménez, David Otorbi, Diego Miralles, Hugo de Mateo, Carlos Igual, Dani Sánchez, David Martínez and Asier Herrera have participated in various Under-19, Under-18, Under-17, Under-16 and Under-15 squads for Spain. For other countries, Dominycas Taucas (Lithuania), Alexander Gurendal (Norway), David Vassilev (Bulgaria), Pieter Emonds (Belgium) and Oussama Amar (Algeria) have all had breakthrough years.

Women's team players Sara Tamarit, Olga San Nicolás, Ainhoa ​​Alguacil, Daniela Hellín, Rosario Vargas and Alba Martín have received their chance for Spain at several levels.

11 Champions

Eleven teams have been champions of their respective leagues in 11-a-side and 8-a-side football.

VCF Mestalla and VCF Feminino B

Particularly noteworthy are the successes of VCF Mestalla and VCF Feminino B, who won their respective leagues in Group VI of Tercera RFEF and Group VII of Primera Nacional, and have also achieved promotion.

Juvenil

VCF Juvenil A won the title in Group VII of the Division de Honor, dominating with authority to have a 14-point advantage over the second placed side. They also played in the Champions Cup that brings together the 8 best youth sides in Spain.

VCF Juvenil B, in turn, finished in third position in Group VIII of the Liga Nacional, in a highly disputed competition in which they finished 5 points off first place.

Cadete

In the Cadete category, VCF Cadete A finished in second place in the Liga Autonoma, two points behind first place, while Fundació VCF Cadete finished in fourth place.

Infantil

In the Infantil category, two more titles went to VCF Academy teams. Especially outstanding was the one won by VCF Infantil A in the Liga Autonoma.

Infantil

In the Infantil category, two more titles went to VCF Academy teams. Especially noteworthy was the one won by VCF Infantil A in the Liga Autonoma, after beating Villarreal 1-2 on the last day of the season. They also triumphed in all the tournaments in which they participated: The Coca-Cola Cup in Georgia, Surf International Cup, Copa Mallorca and Memorial Pasquale Miele in Naples. VCF Infantil B were also champions, in Group II of the Primera Regional.

VCF Fundació Infantil finished fourth in the sema league.

8-a-side

The most recent example of the excellent work with younger teams was VCF Alevín A's performances in LaLiga Promises, where they were runners-up, perfectly showing the playing style of the VCF Academy. 

VCF Alevín A itself, together with VCF Alevín B, Alevín Fundació VCF B, Benjamín Fundació VCF A and Benjamín B, were all proclaimed champions of their respective competitions.

5-A-side football

 The VCF Academy is also leading, together with the FFCV (Football Federation of the Valencian Community), a new project to modify the training and competition methodology of  8-a-side football and adapt it to smaller dimensions of 5-a-side football  and to some game features that allow boys and girls to have more contact with the ball and ultimately have more fun while enjoying more quality minutes.

Last May, the FFCV Gegants Cup was played in this experimental format with the technical and methodological partner of the VCF Academy and for the next season new actions will be carried out to promote 5-a-side football for the little ones.

International Academies

The growth of the VCF Academy is also supported by two other pillars that have been strengthened this season: The VCF Soccer Academy Programs and Escoles VCF.

n the VCF Soccer Academy Programs, the VCF Soccer Academy in Seattle has been incorporated into a project that has Academies in America, Asia, Africa and Europe and has also implemented strategic alliances with clubs in Ecuador, Lithuania and Georgia.

This month of June, an important step is also taken with the I VCF Academy World Cup, a tournament that will have a wide representation of the VCF Soccer Academies, the clubs with a strategic alliance or the countries where VCF Soccer Camps are held.

 VCF Schools

 At a more local level, the Escoles VCF project in its fourth season has increased to 41 the number of clubs with which Valencia CF has collaboration agreements to, on the one hand, extend the working methodology of the VCF Academy and the image of the Valencia CF at the same time as the recruitment and training of young talents for the VCF Academy.

This season all face-to-face activities have been resumed, which has made it possible to turn the Ciutat Esportiva de Paterna into the backbone of the 41 VCF Schools that have had the opportunity to participate in the many meetings, clinics, specific conferences, workshops... have done with different ages.

 Values and Training

In addition to the specific work on the field of play, the VCF Academy also carries out important work off the field of play to shape an ideal of play and an ideal of conduct based on the concepts that make up the project of values ​​that has been shaped this season graphically in the new logo of the VCF Academy and the new branding of the Ciutat Esportiva de Paterna.

Values ​​such as Passion, Humility, Loyalty, Resilience, Effort, Trust... make up a philosophy that is based on the axes of Sentiment, Courage and fellowship and that has permeated each of the actions of the VCF Academy that this season has maintained social actions of #AcademiaEnComunidad and the training workshops for players, technicians and family members in #Academia360.

Education and Resources

This training in values ​​of our players is also complemented by the educational commitment, academic training and good school performance also in the players who compete at the highest level.

This academic year has delivered a 100% pass rate for  the players who have completed Baccalaureate at Colegio Mas Camarena, the reference educational center in the Valencian Community with which the VCF Academy has a collaboration agreement.

I Personal Brand Diploma for Athletes

In this commitment to academic training, this season the I Personal Brand Diploma for Athletes has also been launched in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Mas Camarena School for those young athletes who want to acquire more tools for managing  their professional future inside or outside the sport.

Training for coaches: FFCV and UCV agreements

The commitment to training also for the coaching staffs that can benefit from the different collaboration agreements that the VCF Academy has signed this season with the FFCV (Federació de Futbol de la Comunitat Valenciana) and the UCV (Universidad Católica de Valencia) for the that they will have greater access facilities to their courses.

In addition, during this season they have completed a specific coaching and empowerment seminar given by professors from the University of Valencia.

Gratitude and Future

 The VCF Academy wants to thank the effort, work and dedication of all the players, coaching staff and employees who have taken part in this intense season, especially those who will not continue with their training process or perform their duties at the VCF Academy.

And after a season full of successes and great projects, the VCF Academy will continue with this line of work to remain faithful to its motto: We educate people, we train footballers and maintain an identity that is part of the essence of the VCF DNA.