Pep Guardiola, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique.
These are some of the world class footballers who were housed under the renowned FC Barcelona academy 'La Masia', which is situated in the city. Owing to the club's rich success and global reach over the last decade, Barcelona has been able to launch academies around the world through which it could propogate its teachings and values to aspiring, young footballers.
Carlos Martin, Director of Barca Academy, is optimistic of the projects the global institution has set out on.
'The Barca Academies project helps bring together all those who want to connect with Barca. I think it's a strong and stable project that goes years back and has a lot of pull around the world.we want to keep growing and launch initiatives. There are already a few new openings that are in the works. We want to keep growing and develop a presence wherever we can while making sure we don't lose the essence that makes us different," said Martin.
The project currently has strong presence in thriving football markets including the USA and Japan, where the brand names Barcelona and the La Liga have made a significant impact.
"With the improvement I am seeing in the United States, I am 100 per cent sure we are going to see more and more Americans playing the La Liga and hopefully at FC Barcelona," said Domenech Guasch, director of Barca Academy project New York, which was set up in 2017.
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