I just learned from a soccer fanatic I know that apparently the European clubs have special schools associated with them. According to him, club teams will draft promising kids - he was saying about 10 years of age and up - and train them while educating them. The kicker - chortle - though was he was saying that the kids/parents get paid a non-trivial amount of money as part of the deal. (He didn’t say non-trivial. He said shit-load.)
So, is this the case? My only specific question is how much can a kid make doing this? Otherwise, I’m just interested in hearing whatever anyone has to tell me about this.
Hat tip to Saitou, who posted this link from the NY Times on the Dutch club Ajax’s school for developing talent. It’s a very interesting read, and may answer some of your questions.
Most teams have their own youth system, certainly teams at the top level. Some teams develop young talent then sell it on, a profitable business model (a rare thing in football). They can sign players at pretty much any age, although until 16 they have to be local players under FIFA rules. They can sometimes be paid, depends how promising they’re thought to be, but most kids would happily play for a decent youth team without pay, at least until they start getting a bit older. There’s a story about the Real striker Raul, when he was in the Atletico (Real’s local rivals) youth team he went to the club chairman and asked for a bus pass so he could get to training without having to pay his fair. The chairman said no, he ended up the star player at Real instead.
So they can sometimes make a bit, but don’t normally get paid regularly until at least 16 when they can sign contracts.
Also, they don’t get drafted or educated. They’re volunteers and will be expected to attend a proper school as well as a footballing academy, if not as often as other kids.