Benfica Campus filled up for tremendously successful initiative

BTV REPORT

As part of the European Club Association (ECA) Visits, Sport Lisboa e Benfica opened the gates of the Benfica Campus and Estádio da Luz on November 21 and 22 to 48 representatives from 46 of the organization's member clubs. The large turnout, with the number of places insufficient to meet demand, illustrated the great success of the initiative, which aimed to share experiences on the development of young players.

The first day of the visit was spent entirely at the Benfica Campus, whose auditorium filled up first thing in the morning for a lecture on the club's youth development work methodology, featuring Pedro Mil-Homens, general director of the Benfica Campus, and Pedro Marques, technical director of the club's youth development, among others.

In the audience was President Rui Costa, who was recently elected as a member of the ECA board for the 2023/27 term. Attentive to the speeches, the leader of the eagles then had the opportunity to talk to representatives of major clubs from the Old Continent such as Ajax, Monaco, Leverkusen, Inter Milan, Liverpool, PSV, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Villarreal and Stuttgart, among others.

"These visits are part of an exchange program in which the clubs are showing great interest, not least because of the demand we had during our visit. We had a very high demand, we couldn't receive more people and this illustrates the credit Benfica has in these clubs for the work it has done", said Pedro Mil-Homens, speaking to BTV, underlining that the success of the Club's project is explained by the quality of the professionals who work every day at Benfica Campus.

For his part, Fernando Pinto, Director of Sports Projects for the Club's Youth Football, explained why it is difficult to replicate the Reds Methodology elsewhere: "The secret is how you apply the knowledge and methodology you have on a daily basis. And that's ours. It has to do with the people who are with us and the management's strategic commitment to youth football. That depends on each club. We have our own reality and we can share it without giving away any secrets."

Present at the initiative on behalf of the ECA, Pouya Yaghoubinia, the organization's Football Development Manager, expressed his satisfaction at being able to learn from the best.

"Benfica is one of the best examples in Europe and the world when it comes to youth development. Having this club open the gate to one of the best academies, which produces so many talented players, and shows how it works is an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn and grow together", he said.

O foco da iniciativa foi a visita ao Benfica Campus, The focus of the initiative was the visit to the Benfica Campus, but the Estádio da Luz was also part of the itinerary on the second day. The representatives of the 46 clubs visited the Cathedral and the Benfica Museum - Cosme Damião, as well as taking part in more workshops given by members of the eagles' youth development staff.

The unequivocal proof of the Club's prestige was evident in the statements made to BTV by some of the participants in the ECA Academy Visits. "The hospitality was excellent, and I can only thank this great club. They have a good vision and a good development plan", mentioned Ernest Faber, general manager of the PSV Academy, while Petr Hurych, technical coordinator of Slávia Prague, revealed that the opportunity to get to know the Benfica Campus facilities in depth was inspiring: "Benfica is the best club in the world at producing players. I want to do some of the things I learned at my club. I don't know if we can do the same, but getting close would be good for us."