Valencia CF Academy, third in Spain for players developed in professional football

The Valencia CF Academy is the third in Spain with the most homegrown players competing in professional football, according to Report No. 518 from the CIES Football Observatory, which analyses training clubs around the world.

Valencia CF have 38 players trained at the VCF Academy competing in the main leagues across the world, according to this CIES report, which on this occasion takes as a main reference 49 leagues from different parts of the planet. Valencia CF are the third club in Spain with the most homegrown players, only behind FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. 

The Valencia CF Academy is one of the major references in youth football in Europe. Over the last seven years, Valencia CF have remained in Europe’s top 10 in the CIES ranking of clubs with the most homegrown players competing at the highest level in the five main European leagues (England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France).

Across European leagues, the number of players trained at the VCF Academy amounts to 34 competing in one of the 31 leagues in Europe, while the number of VCF Academy graduates competing in the main leagues worldwide rises to 38.

The list of players would be even longer if this CIES report included players such as Mario Domínguez, Rubén Iranzo and David Otorbi who, although meeting the criterion of having been at Valencia CF for three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21, are not included because they have not played LaLiga matches in each of the last two seasons.

The main criterion used by the CIES Football Observatory is the one established by UEFA, which defines training clubs as those where players have spent at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 and have participated in the league of each country.

The VCF Academy has a well-defined working methodology and identity, #JugarAFoc, which serves as a national and international benchmark for the development of players at the highest competitive level.

Since the official opening of Valencia CF’s Ciudad Deportiva in 1992, 122 players have made their official debut with the first team after previously playing for VCF Mestalla.

The VCF Academy’s development capacity is also evident in the call-ups for youth national teams, with 28 international players last season — meaning that 1 out of every 7 eligible players was an international (+ INFO).

In the 2025/26 season, there are already 18 international players, with special mention to Alain Gómez, Vicent Abril and Raúl Jiménez, who participated in the U-20 World Cup in Chile, and Ismail El Aoud, who played in the U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

The identity and methodology of the VCF Academy also attract international interest, as shown by the different VCF Soccer Academies the club has in strategic markets across North America, Europe and Asia, the various international partnerships with clubs, and the VCF Camps and VCF Elite Camp. Altogether, these activities allow Valencia CF to engage with more than 5,000 players every season in over 50 countries across five continents.