The KNVB has paid a visit to the Youth Academy of Athletic Club Bilbao. Athletic is a unique club that plays exclusively with Basque players and is a best practice in the field of holistic talent development.
Players in the academy are given at least two years to adapt and develop, with a dual career being part of plan A, and players have free choice of school to shape their social and identity development. 96% of the players continue their studies, and the player support team helps them manage this.
The club has a separate program focused on broad identity development, based on the belief that all (former) Athletic players give something back to the community as a result. Besides that, they have a department called “shelter”. This department takes care of a safe place for children in a high-performance sports environment through prevention, training, and protocols.
We are taking this best practice with us to the EDU-DC project as inspiration and for the implementation of dual careers in elite football.