PSG Academy

The Paris Saint-Germain FC Youth Academy () is the youth system of both Paris Saint-Germain's male and female teams. Managed by the Association Paris Saint-Germain, the men's section of the academy was officially established in 1975, but has been developing young talents since the club's foundation in 1970. PSG began developing youth players for the women's section in 2012, with the academy officially opening in 2023. Campus PSG in Poissy is currently the training facility and home ground of both sections.

Players join PSG's youth system at the age of 15 and work their way up before breaking into the club's professional squads. Male players go through the Under-17s, the Under-19s and the Espoirs prior to being promoted to the first team, while the Under-19s is the final step for female players. Since its inception, the academy has produced players such as Jean-Marc Pilorget, Luis Fernandez, Nicolas Anelka, Mamadou Sakho, Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Alphonse Areola, Presnel Kimpembe, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Grace Geyoro, Perle Morroni and Sandy Baltimore. Many other graduates have also gone on to sign professional contracts with PSG or other clubs.

The men's U17s play in the Championnat National U17, and the Al Kass International Cup. The male U19s compete in four competitions: the Championnat National U19, the Coupe Gambardella, the UEFA Youth League, and the Premier League International Cup. The men's Espoirs take part in the Challenge Espoirs. Likewise, the women's U19s take part in the . Formerly, there was also a men's reserve side, which competed in the Championnat National 2. It was dissolved after the end of the 2018–19 season.

Recognized as one of the best in the country, the PSG Youth Academy has been named Best Youth Club by the French Football Federation on four occasions. Domestically, the male U19s have won a record six league titles, one Gambardella Cup, and one Carisport Tournament. The men's U17s have won three league titles and one Cadets Championship. The female U19s have won the league title four times. In international club football, the men's U19s have won one U21 European Youth Tournament. The male U17s have won a record three Alkass Cups and one Montaigu Tournament. Additionally, the now-defunct men's reserve team won three Parisian Cups.

History

First graduates, Parisian Cup treble (1970–1987)

Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain merged to form men's football team Paris Saint-Germain FC on June 17, 1970. It was made official with the creation of the Association Paris Saint-Germain on August 12, 1970. This organization has managed the club's amateur section, including the academy, ever since then. It also ran the professional section until 1991. Like the club itself, began developing the Paris Saint-Germain Youth Academy on the same date.

The first wave of graduates emerged in the 1972–73 season. A total of ten players were promoted to the first team in what still is the largest class in the academy's history. It was made up of Éric Renaut, Patrice Zbinden, Claude Rivet, Patrice Turpin, Bernard Lambert, Michel Llodra, , Robin Leclercq, Richard Vanquelles and Kamel Ben Mustapha. These players would all go on to play for the first team, with Renaut being the most successful one, amassing 290 appearances during his decade at the club. They were part of the club's reserve side that won the Coupe de Paris in 1971–72 and 1972–73, the academy's first titles ever. PSG won their third and last Parisian Cup in 1979–80.

The club officially established the PSG Youth Academy on November 4, 1975, headed by Pierre Alonzo, the technical director and a former French player. That season's generation was led by François Brisson, Jean-Marc Pilorget, Lionel Justier and Thierry Morin. On December 21, 1975, a few weeks after the inauguration, PSG's so-called « four musketeers » made their professional debuts as starters against Reims in a league match at the Parc des Princes. Brisson won an Olympic gold medal with France in 1984, while Justier became a fan favorite at PSG. For his part, Pilorget remains to this day PSG's all-time record appearance maker with 435 official matches. Finally, Morin played most of his career with PSG before being named director of the CFA Omnisports in 1994. This organization is responsible for the education of the academy players. Morin presided it until 2018. He is now the general secretary of the Association PSG.

Another great youth product was Luis Fernandez. A big PSG fan, he made his debut in 1978, became team captain and led the club to its first major trophies in the 1980s. He then returned as coach during PSG's golden era in the 1990s, leading them to the domestic cup double in 1995 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996.

Gambardella winners and maiden league titles (1987–2009)

The late 1980s and early 1990s welcomed another bright generation of young players including Richard Dutruel, Jean-Claude Fernandes, Thomas Kokkinis, Roméo Calenda, Francis Llacer, Pascal Nouma and Bernard Allou. Before playing for the first team, they were part of the men's under-19 and reserve sides that claimed the Championnat National des Cadets title and the Coupe Gambardella in 1987–88 and 1990–91, respectively. The men's under-17 then won the Montaigu Tournament in 1993, while finishing runners-up in the Plougonvelin Tournament that same year. Already one of France's best youth systems, the PSG Youth Academy were given the Best Youth Club award by the French Football Federation in 1988–89.

Dutruel, Llacer, Nouma and Allou were all part of the club's crowning glory in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final with legend Luis Fernandez now as coach. Jérôme Leroy, Pierre Ducrocq and Nicolas Anelka also made their first-team breakthroughs during that decade. Anelka, however, was the pioneer of promising PSG talents signing for other European clubs due to the lack of game time. He signed for Arsenal in 1997 at the age of 17 for a really small fee. This would become a regular trend in the 2010s.

The later half of the 1990s and the early 2000s were bittersweet; players kept reaching the first team, but only Sylvain Distin, Bartholomew Ogbeche and Lorik Cana cemented their place in it. Additionally, the youth sides didn't win any trophy. Fortunes changed in the late 2000s as the PSG Youth Academy slowly began its rise to the top of French youth football. Clément Chantôme and Mamadou Sakho were the two most successful graduates during these years. They were part of the men's under-19 side that won the club's first Championnat National U19 in 2006 and then became regular starters for the first team, playing over 200 games and winning several trophies. Sakho was also club captain between 2011 and 2012. Albeit with different players, the U19 team also won the Tournoi Carisport in 2008, a trophy which heralded an era of unprecedented success for the PSG Youth Academy.

National dominance despite talent exodus (2009–2019)

Between 2009 and 2019, the PSG Youth Academy dominated the national scene. In the 2009–10 campaign, the men's under-19 team won the Championnat National U19 final against Monaco, while the men's under-17 side lost to Sochaux on penalties. The club also began developing a women's section of the academy to strengthen its first-team squad with homegrown players. The 2010–11 season was even more prolific as PSG became the first club to be crowned French champions in both age categories. The U19 won their second title in a row against Grenoble, while the U17 defeated arch-rivals Marseille in the final to clinch the club's first Championnat National U17 title. PSG received the Best Youth Club award for the second time in history in recognition of their U17/U19 double. They won it again in 2012–13 and 2013–14.

The U19 participated in another final in 2011–12 but they would have to wait until 2015–16 and their victory over Lyon to be champions again. That same season, following two consecutive silver medals in 2013–14 and 2014–15, the U17 defeated Saint-Étienne and won the title as well, thus handing PSG their second double. They claimed their second championship in a row and third overall after beating Monaco in 2016–17. The women's department performed just as well. As planned, the club began forming players at the Bougival training center in 2012, and Grace Geyoro became the first graduate to play for the professional team in 2014. The women's U19 have reached the final a record six times since 2013–14, winning three of them. They defeated Lyon in 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2018–19 to clinch the trophy.

The academy also shined at the European and international level. The U19 first reached the UEFA Youth League final in 2016, narrowly losing to Chelsea, and then downed Monaco to win the in 2018. Simultaneously, the U17 dominated the Alkass International Cup, contested in Doha, Qatar by teams from around the world. They won the inaugural edition in 2012 and reached the final in 2013, before regaining the trophy in 2015 and 2018.

Despite its success, the academy saw the exodus of several promising talents to other European clubs for free during the 2010s. This was the case of Kingsley Coman (Juventus, 2014), Dan-Axel Zagadou (Borussia Dortmund, 2017), Claudio Gomes (Manchester City, 2018), Tanguy Kouassi (Bayern Munich, 2020), Adil Aouchiche (Saint-Étienne, 2020), (Lyon, 2020) and Alice Sombath (Lyon, 2020). Conversely, other graduates like Adrien Rabiot, Alphonse Areola, Presnel Kimpembe, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Grace Geyoro, Perle Morroni and Sandy Baltimore have played big roles in the men's and women's first teams.

Dissolution of reserve team, COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2023)

In May 2019, following the end of the 2018–19 season, the club decided to dissolve its men's reserve team and instead focus on the under-19s squad from the 2019–20 campaign onwards. The reserves used to compete in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French football. Consequently, the under-19s side became the last step before breaking into the first team. Club officials considered that the reserves no longer offered the desirable conditions in preparing players for the step up to the professional squad. In fact, many of PSG's starlets had skipped the reserves and gone straight into the first team.

The 2019–20 season would have been the academy's first without its reserve team. In mid-April 2020, however, the French Football Federation (FFF) voided all amateur football leagues because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on football. As the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread, the FFF suspended the 2020–21 campaign for amateur teams in October 2020 before definitely voiding it in March 2021. Despite the forced inactivity, the FFF still recognized the PSG Youth Academy as the country's best youth system in 2019 and 2020.

In the 2021–22 season, the first to be fully completed since the pandemic began, the male U19 and U17 sides were both eliminated at the semifinal stage of their respective championships, while the female U19 failed to defend their league crown and finished second to Lyon. The 2022–23 campaign played out in similar fashion: the female U19 finished behind Lyon once again, the male U17 missed out on the championship phase, and the male U19 lost the final to Nantes.

Women's academy, Espoirs team and fifth U19 title (2023–present)

Having developed its young talents through the U19 team since 2012, the club officially inaugurated the women's section of the PSG Youth Academy on August 2, 2023. A total of 34 players, aged between 15 and 19, were signed to the youth setup headed by Sonia Haziraj, the technical director and a former French international. The players are split into two teams, including an Elite group which plays in the Championnat National Féminin U19. There are currently ten players in the first-team squad that have come through the club's academy, most notably Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG's all-time top scorer), Grace Geyoro (captain), Sandy Baltimore and Laurina Fazer, all of whom have played in France's youth teams and then progressed to the senior side.

After beating Auxerre 3–1 in the final, with goals from Senny Mayulu and Mahamadou Sangaré, PSG won the U19 title in 2023–24. Coached by Zoumana Camara, the Red and Blues finished top of Group A in the Championnat National U19, before enjoying a dominant knockout-stage campaign. They started off with a 5–0 victory over Lyon in the quarter-finals, featuring a hat-trick from Sangaré, and then ran out 2–0 winners against Marseille in the semi-finals, thanks to goals from Mayulu and Ibrahim Mbaye. With this fifth domestic U19 title, after those won in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2016, PSG have become France's most decorated club in this age category.

In October 2024, ahead of the 2024–25 season, PSG decided to create the Espoirs, an additional team within its Youth Academy. Restricted to players under the age of 23, its maiden squad will include the 2023–24 U19 French champions and new recruits. The team's goal is to maximise playing time for PSG's young talents and allow them to face senior-level players, ensuring a smooth transition into professional squads. The Espoirs will participate in the Challenge Espoirs, a competition organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). In addition, matches against Régional 2, National 1 and Ligue 2 teams will be scheduled throughout the season, along with games against elite squads from French and foreign professional clubs. Finally, some Espoirs players who meet the eligibility criteria will also be called up for UEFA Youth League matches.

Grounds

The Paris Saint-Germain Youth Academy is currently based at the Campus PSG, located in Poissy, nearby Paris. It became the training facility and home ground of PSG's male and female academies in January 2024, replacing the Camp des Loges. Its main stadium, which has a capacity of 1,100 spectators, as well as the other 15 football pitches of the complex, host home matches for all three academy teams: the men's U19s and U17s and the women's U19s.

The male U19s played their first game at Campus PSG on January 21, 2024, cruising to a 5–0 win over Le Havre in the Championnat National U19. The men's U17s debuted on January 28, 2024, with a 2–0 victory against Versailles in the Championnat National U17. The female U19s made their grand premiere by beating Guingamp 5–0 in the Championnat National Féminin U19 on February 11, 2024. The Espoirs, however, lost against Nantes 1–3 in the Challenge Espoirs in their inaugural match at Campus PSG on October 26, 2024.

The Camp des Loges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris Region, was the training facility of the men's youth teams from 1975, when the first centre of the PSG Youth Academy opened there, until the inauguration of the Campus PSG in 2024. The women's side integrated it between 2023 and 2024 after moving out from the Cercle Bougival training center in Bougival, Paris Region. Both sections used to play their home matches at the Stade Georges Lefèvre, a sports complex located just across the street from the Camp des Loges.

Honours

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* shared record

Players

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Men's Espoirs

Men's Under-19

Men's Under-17

Women's Under-19

Notable graduates

Men

153 graduates have played for the men's first team since 1970.

Women

33 graduates have played for the first team since 2012.

Titi d'Or

The Titi d'Or is an annual award presented by ''Les Titis du PSG'' to the most promising and best talents in the Paris Saint-Germain Youth Academy. ''Les Titis du PSG'' is an association affiliated to Paris Saint Germain that covers news of the club's academy. The prize has been awarded to male players since 2007, with an exception in 2010 due to technical reasons. Since 2019, it has also been presented to the most gifted female player.

100+ appearances

Only 23 graduates have played in 100 or more such matches in official competitions for the club's male and female first teams.

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Personnel

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Management

Technical staff

References

External links

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Paris Saint-Germain
at Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain Youth Academy
at UEFA.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris Saint-Germain FC Youth Academy
Reserve team football in France
Paris Saint-Germain FC
Football academies in France
UEFA Youth League teams
NextGen series
Premier League International Cup