A Look at Some of Best & Most Exciting Prospects of the Real Betis Youth Team

The business representative of one of Spain’s most popular football teams, Real Betis, recently announced the conclusion of an important sponsorship agreement with easyMarkets, a prestigious trading firm based in Cyprus. Perhaps the most newsworthy aspect of the signing is that it marks the first time Real Betis will enjoy financial breathing room in the sponsorship department. As most sports enthusiasts in Europe and elsewhere know well, Real Betis is one of the oldest and most loved teams on the continent.

However, the football squad’s popularity has not always translated into sponsorship money. After a long history of iffy financial agreements and roller-coaster money problems, the team returned to La Liga only as recently as 2011. After that, the business managers of the legendary football team went to work security financial backing, one deal at a time. Indeed, between 2011 and 2017, Real Betis slowly built up its sponsorship total from around $6 million to well over $13 million.

The Real Betis quarry, or youth squad, includes some of the most promising names in the sport. The football club’s youth academy brings players up from early childhood to their eventual merging with the adult professional team. Just before “graduating” from the academy, youth players reach the final stage of preparation, so-called “Juvenile A” ranking, which typically includes players who are under the age of 19 and who do represent the Real Betis organization within many national contests.

After graduating, players move to the Betis reserve, officially known as Betis Deportivo. Not yet part of the senior squad, Betis Deportivo players do actually compete as part of the formal, adult-league sports organization. Recent key players on the Juvenile A squad, who are soon to have the chance to be part of the adult teams, include names like:

• Daniel Rebollo
• Alberto López
• Álex Sánchez
• Jorge Fernández
• Simón Lecea
• Manuel Luque
• Diego González
• Jesús Parada
• Jaime Garijo
• Roberto Abreu

At least three dozen famous players in the world football leagues have come up through the Real Betis youth system, which is considered one of the best in the world. France’s youth league has long been held up as a model upon which many other teams design their training programs and recruit players. Real Betis is currently within the first tier of youth training programs, which is why so many famous players have already come from their ranks. Names that make up the secondary youth lineup, the Juvenile B squad, are set to be in Juvenile A eventually. Some of the standouts among them are:

• Alberto
• Gonzalo
• Josema
• Samuel
• Luka
• Guti
• Gella
• Selu
• Rafa
• Iván

Real Betis devotes a handsome portion of its budget to its youth training squads each season in the hopes that the team’s next big star will be incorporated into the adult team. While it’s true that the occasional youth player will switch allegiance and move to another city’s squad, there’s at least a short contractual period during which the new graduates must play for the city in which they completed their youth training.