Barca have expanded their soccer school academy in Aichi, Japan. The club now has six academies in the Asian country, following those in Fukuoka, Katsushika, Nara, Yokohama, and Hiroshima.

This addition places Japan as the second country with the most Barça academies worldwide after the United States, which has seven.

Barca’s continuous expansion into countries of major strategic importance for the club, where football is now the most popular sport, is why they rank highest as the club with the most accomplished homegrowns.

A large part of Barcelona’s success in the last decade is due to La Masia. The likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Pedro, Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, and Sergio Busquets formed one of the greatest football teams of all time.

La Masia graduates also found success in other countries, especially England. Real ballers like Hector Bellerin, Cesc Fabregas, Pique, and more recently Eric Garcia and Adama Traore have all sipped and savored the Premier League. Some of them even returned to Barcelona later.

La Masia also topples the chart as the club whose youth system has amassed the highest Ballon d’Ors. 

Barca Academy has produced 11 Ballon d’Ors over the years. Eight of those were thanks to Leo Messi, while Putellas and Aitana accounted for the others.

Which cities will the Barca Academy serve?

The new soccer school will serve the region of Aichi, which includes the city of Nagoya, home to 2.3 million people, and will have three different sites (Seto, Toyokawa, and Nisshin). 

It’s a think-tank move from FC Barcelona and a big win for Japan. The Asian country can now boast of a strong blaugrana presence, and according to Barca, there are now more than 1,500 boys and girls learning to play football the Barça way in Japan every year.

How many Academies does Barcelona have?

Overall, the club has over 30 football academies, 180 camps, and more than 45,000 kids getting to perfect their football skills and knowledge. Impressive!