European top tier clubs are investing 870 million euros (1 billion dollars) into youth development in 2020, with England’s Premier League leading the way, according to a report published on Thursday by the continental body, UEFA.
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The report said that the English clubs spend an average of 6.1 million euros each on their talents, followed by Germany’s Bundesliga with an average of 5.3 million euros per club.
France (4.7 million euros), Italy (4.6 million) and Spain (3.4 million) follow as the top five leagues in Europe also dominate in this area.
UEFA said that almost 20 per cent of the money comes from its solidarity fund payments – with clubs not competing in European events eligible for this.
In all, UEFA has spent more than one billion euros over the past decade on youth development of which 1,629 clubs have made use.
Annual spending has more than tripled in the period, from 43 million euros in 2008-09 to 139 million in 2018-19.