LALIGA Academy opens its first training centre in Latin America in Bogota

LALIGA has opened its first academy in Latin America in Bogota, Colombia. This new training centre has been made possible thanks to a partnership with EFA Deportes, and will coach children and adolescents using the LALIGA Methodology. The LALIGA Academy in Bogota will become one of more than 750 sporting projects across 55 countries managed by the Spanish competition to help promote grassroots football at a global level.

LALIGA Academy in Bogota, which opens its doors in February, will welcome players from 4 to 19 years old, who will train according to the highest standards in global grassroots football through the LALIGA football methodology, delivered by some of the best grassroots football coaches from the organisation. The sports centre will be located at the Gimnasio del Norte School (Cl. 207 #70-50, Bogota) and will have access to the resources and tools from the Spanish competition to help develop the personal and sporting potential of the participants, in an environment equipped with high-quality facilities. As part of the resources available at this training centre, there will be 4 regulation size pitches, and more than 10 local coaches, all licensed to instruct children and young people.

The academy will be directed by a LALIGA coach with a UEFA PRO licence, who will travel to Colombia to lead the project, thus ensuring the application of training concepts from the Spanish competition are taught in the programmes. The aim is to provide young footballers with a comprehensive training plan, and aid their sporting, educational and personal development. Additionally, the centre's operation and application of the methodology will be coordinated directly from LALIGA headquarters in Madrid by the LALIGA Academy team through technological tools such as the LALIGA Academy Manager, which is used to monitor the development of our international academies.

“We are very pleased with the agreement, as it'll be our first academy in Latin America, which is a key region for LALIGA Academy. The choice of location is not random: Colombia is a strategic country for us, and has a strong LALIGA following. This is something we’ve seen year after year in every player from Colombia who comes to our LALIGA Academy and LALIGA Camps programmes in Madrid," said Javier Hernandez, Head of LALIGA Academy.

“For LALIGA, this academy represents a milestone for our development in Latin America, as it becomes the first academy in the region. One of our main objectives is to help boost and develop grassroots football at a global level, and we know that there is great talent in Colombia that we can help to promote through our methodologies,” stated Juan Raúl Mejía, LALIGA's delegate in Colombia.

“LALIGA's methodology focuses on the comprehensive development of players from a holistic perspective, covering 4 essential elements: tactical-cognitive, technical-coordinative, physical-conditional and psychological-social-affective. It also places emphasis on the encouragement of talent and individualising the training process, taking into account each player's different needs in the development process. This holistic approach can make a difference in today's football," explained Juan Florit, Head of Sports Projects at LALIGA ACADEMY. 

"This new partnership with LALIGA Academy represents a huge benefit for thousands of children and young people in Colombia that love football. To our comprehensive training methodology, we have added a successful worldwide model, which represents the best of the 42 professional teams from Spain's LALIGA football league, the best in the world. Bogota is the first city in Latin America to host LALIGA Academy. This fills us with pride and motivates us to continue working so that our sportspeople can fulfil their dreams," said Bernardo Uricoechea, Sports Director of EFA Deportes.

LALIGA is a pioneer in the development of grassroots football among the major European leagues, thanks to its network of academies that focus on the development of young international talent. It currently has nine permanent football academies around the world, with sites in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Malaysia and Madrid.

For more information on the academy, interested parties can visit: www.laligaacademybogota.com