FM23 is a game where you can have the opportunity to choose your own club and go out there, win titles, and make history. You’ll be able to see many clubs that look great on paper but in reality it’s a whole different story, who knows maybe one day you will find one of these clubs that are good enough for you?
The clubs in this list are the ones that are not so well known, but they have a lot of potential to become great clubs. They’re not necessarily unknown as you might already know them, but they haven’t been able to shine yet. Maybe with your help they will be able to get out of the shadows and become regular winners?
The clubs on this list are the ones that need your help to be successful. They might have some great players and a lot of potential, but it hasn’t been shown yet. You can go out there and make history with them by winning titles and making them become one of the best clubs in the world.
What Makes A Good Youth System On Football Manager?
A youth system is a core component of any top flight club, as it will be the key to success in the future. The abilities and attributes you’ve nurtured in your youth team will determine whether or not you win trophies in the long run.
In order to build a successful youth system, there are several factors that need to be taken into account: Youth facilities, youth importance, junior coaching and recruitment.
Youth Facilities
Youth Facilities are an important part of your club’s youth system. They provide the space for your youngsters to train, grow, and develop their skills. Youth facilities can be upgraded in the Facilities screen.
Upgrading youth facilities will increase the number of young players that can be accommodated by the facility at one time. This allows you to have more young players training at once, which improves their development (or so we’re told).
You may upgrade a Youth Facility with Youth Facilities or Youth Training; both options will improve its capacity, but only one will do so at an accelerated pace:
- Youth Facilities – Increases capacity by 10% each time it is upgraded (up to 100%). Each additional upgrade requires more money than was required for previous upgrades (but still less than what it would cost to buy another one outright); takes approximately 1 week per level after reaching level 5.
- Youth Training – Increases capacity by 30% each time it is upgraded (up to 130%). Each additional upgrade requires less money than was required for previous upgrades and takes approximately 1 day per level after reaching level 5
Youth Importance
One of the most important things to get right as a club is your youth system. It’s where you find your future stars, and it can also be used to improve your team for free.
When it comes to youth systems there are three main things that you need to consider:
- How do I make sure my young players are getting the best training possible?
- How do I sign the best young players regardless of age or reputation?
- What can I do on FM23+ with my own academy and their facilities?
Youth Recruitment
Youth recruitment is an integral part of any club’s success, and it can make or break a manager’s career. Before you begin the process of scouting for new talents, it’s important to understand what exactly scouting entails.
In Football Manager 20, there are two ways to scout players: through the official tool (which can be accessed via the transfer window) or through private tutors who work with your youth academy players.
These methods are great tools if you want to find hidden gems that other teams haven’t noticed yet but still aren’t as effective at finding young prospects as they were in previous versions of FM19 and 20.*
Junior Coaching
Junior Coaching is the most important part of your youth system. A player who leaves your club at 16 or 17 and goes elsewhere will still be around age 19 when they return, so it’s very important to keep them around as long as possible.
If you lose these guys, they’ll only come back if they’re good enough for professional football and are willing to pay a transfer fee.
Check Out Football Manager 2023 Scouting Guide
Best Youth Systems Outside the Top 6 Leagues
A number of criteria were considered when choosing this list.
There are several important factors that allow us to scout for players at small clubs. First, the academies of top-flight European teams—like Real Madrid and Barcelona—are well known in spite of their success, so we do not need to spend a lot of time scouting those locations.
Second (and related), smaller club’s youth systems have amazing potential because they don’t get as much attention from scouts or media outlets
In addition, “youth importance” is not calculated as a deciding factor when ranking teams. Our main aim with this guide was to show which clubs have the best systems once you launch FIFA 15; youth importance has simply been added here for your information.
Many clubs that were left out of our analysis in spite of having strong youth program records found themselves at a disadvantage because they are located in countries whose football development has not been widely studied.
For example, even if a club has an excellent youth system, the overall quality of home-grown players it produces is affected by that country’s youth rating—so I prioritized countries with good youth systems here.
Now that the preamble is over, let’s get down to business: here are fifteen clubs with excellent youth systems on Football Manager 2023.
1. FC Liefering (Austria)
Liefering is an Austrian club that has been around for over 50 years, but only recently started to be successful. They won their first Austrian title in 2016 and their first domestic cup in 2018. They play in the NÖ Regional League, which is not a bad starting point for a small club like this one.
One of their biggest strengths is that they have one of the best youth systems on FM23 (and yes, I’ve checked all of them). If you want to use the 4-4-2 formation with two strikers or 4-5-1 with one striker—then Liefering is your choice!
They start out with several players who can be developed into top class players: Josef Schick (Czech Republic), Júnior Moraes (Brazil) and Florian Kamberi (Switzerland) are three examples here.
2. KRC Genk (Belgium)
When it comes to youth systems, the top 6 leagues in Europe commonly receive the most attention. However, there are other countries that have very good domestic systems and can provide players with professional opportunities if they haven’t made it into one of those big clubs yet. KRC Genk is one such club.
The Belgian side has a great reputation for developing young players—both domestically and internationally—and its youth facilities are among some of the best in Europe.
In addition to having an excellent training ground and academy center, Genk also has a number of partnerships with other footballing institutions both within Belgium and abroad (including VVV-Venlo).
This system works because Genk has created an environment where young players can develop without feeling pressure or fear from their coaches or teammates.
3. Salzburg (Austria)
Salzburg is Austria’s top club, and its youth system is one of the best in Europe. The club has a strong reputation for developing talented players—former Austrian internationals Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United) and David Alaba (Bayern Munich) are alums.
The team’s youth recruitment is extensive, with scouts covering all corners of Europe. It also benefits from excellent facilities: Salzburg’s academy buildings were renovated in 2013 to include new classrooms and dormitories, ensuring that young players have everything they need to succeed both on the pitch and off it.
4. River Plate (Argentina)
River Plate is an excellent club for youth development.
They have a great reputation for developing young players and giving them chances to play professional football, which is something that every player wants but only a few get in their careers.
River Plate’s youth system has been successful at producing top players that go on to be some of the best in Argentina and South America, as well as some who play internationally as well.
5. Club Brugge (Belgium)
Belgium is famous for its football. The country has a strong youth system and has produced some of the world’s best players, including Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.
It also has a rich history of producing top-level clubs and even won the UEFA Cup in 1988. One such club, Club Brugge, has been very successful in recent years following their promotion to the Belgian First Division and Europa League qualification in 2014-15.
They have built up an impressive youth system that recruits talented young players from across Belgium while grooming them into superstars or selling them on for profit when they are ready to be sold on.
The club puts great emphasis on developing their own young talent rather than buying it in from elsewhere which makes for an excellent set up for any aspiring coaches out there looking at what kind of opportunities are available at other clubs beyond just those found within Europe’s top leagues
6. Standard Liege (Belgium)
Standard Liege is a Belgian football club based in the city of Liege. Founded in 1906, they are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium. The club has won 11 Belgian First Division titles and 3 Belgian Cups.
Standard have also been regular participants in European competition, with their best achievements being reaching the quarter-finals twice (in 1975–76 and 1976–77).
They reached their first European final when they faced Ajax in 1977 but lost that game 4-1 on aggregate to lose out on what would be their only European title for 35 years until Anderlecht’s success this season
7. Anderlecht (Belgium)
Anderlecht is a great option if you want to play attractive football and make it big. Anderlecht has one of the best youth systems in Europe, with players like Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet.
As the name suggests, Anderlecht is based in Brussels but they have won many trophies including 20 league titles and 3 European Cups.
If you’re looking to play an attractive style of football then Anderlecht should be one of your first options.
8. Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
Bodo/Glimt is a small club in Norway, but they have a very good youth system. They have some of the best young talents in Norway, and many of them are ready to play for the first team.
For example:
- Kristoffer Ravnås (AMC) – A player with great potential who can play anywhere on the pitch. He’s been coached by several top coaches already, including Henning Berg, Erik Hamrén and Tommy Svindal Larsen. He was one of their best players when they won the Norwegian Cup last season. They will give him chances to prove himself this season as well if he keeps playing well during pre-season training sessions/friendlies etc..
- Marius Lundemo (CM) – Another player with great potential who has received recognition from international scouts after winning several tournaments with his club side Bodo/Glimt 2 years ago when he was only 15 years old! He’s been called up by U19 national team recently so that says something about how good he actually is!
9. Basel (Switzerland)
Basel have a great youth system, which is why they are one of the best teams in Switzerland.
They have won the Swiss Super League 5 times and the Swiss Cup 11 times (the most out of all other teams).
10. Universidad Catolica (Chile)
The Universidad Catolica is an excellent club to join if you want to improve your youth facilities. The club’s academy has been operating since 2006 and features a wide variety of modern facilities, such as a swimming pool and state-of-the-art gymnasium.
In addition, the club regularly brings in top international coaches from around the world to teach at their training center.
When it comes to developing young players, there are few clubs in South America who do it better than Universidad Catolica.
The Chilean side places great importance on their youth system and recruits hundreds of talented youngsters every year from all over Chile and Latin America.
Many former U17 stars have gone on to become household names for La U: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich) or Carlos Villanueva (Santos).
11. Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Sparta Prague are the pride of the Czech Republic, and like their more famous neighbor Dukla Prague, they play in the Cechova Liga. Sparta are based in Praha (Prague) and play at Letnany Stadium.
They’re one of only two professional clubs from the capital city – this means that Sparta will always be fighting for attention with Slavia Prague, who play just across town.
12. Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic)
Banik Ostrava is a Czech club based in the city of Ostrava. The club has good facilities, a history of developing young players and an emphasis on youth football. Banik have a junior academy which is one of the best in their region, and they also have strong links with local schools and universities.
The youth players are coached by former professional players who have experience playing at youth level as well as senior level for both international clubs as well as national teams like Czech Republic’s U21 team.
Banik Ostrava also focus on recruiting talented young players from around Europe to train with them since they feel it helps develop their skills faster than if they stayed at home alone without any outside assistance or guidance from professionals who are experienced in dealing specifically with young people’s development needs (such as nutritional requirements).
13. Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
Slavia Prague are the most successful Czech club, having won 24 Czech First League titles and 12 Czech Cups. The club also has seven domestic Supercup trophies to its name.
The team was founded in 1892 as a football section of an athletic sports club called SK Slavia and played under this name until 1902 when they became independent with their current name.
14. Servette (Switzerland)
Servette is a Swiss football club based in Geneva. Formed in 1894, they play in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football.
In 2011–12 they won the Challenge League after finishing second on goal difference behind Aarau before beating FC Luzern 2-0 to win promotion to Super League for 2012–13 season. They were relegated back down again at the end of that campaign and currently play in Switzerland’s third division.
Servette have won two league titles (1954–55, 2003–04) as well as four Swiss Cup trophies (1980). Their last appearance in Europe came during the 2010/11 Europa League when they lost out 1-0 against Bordeaux on away goals in their third qualifying round tie after drawing both legs of the tie 1-1.
15. Sao Paulo FC/SPO (Brazil)
Sao Paulo FC is a Brazilian football club. They are based in Sao Paulo. The club was founded in 1927 and play in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system.
They have won five national championships (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962) and four international titles (1992 Copa CONMEBOL; 1993 Copa CONMEBOL; 2005 FIFA Club World Cup; 2012 FIFA Club World Cup)
Sao Paulo FC has also won 4 Brazilian Cups (2002, 2004, 2010 and 2015). Their main rivals are Corinthians Paulista who they contest the Clássico dos Milhões derby with as well as Palmeiras with whom they contest the Fiel derby.
Honorable Mentions
- AFC Ajax (Netherlands)
- FC Midtjylland (Denmark)
- Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
- Manchester City (England)
- Bayern Munich (Germany)
- FC Porto (Portugal)
- Real Madrid (Spain)
Football Manager is a complex game, and there are many different ways to play it. But no matter your style or preference, there’s something for every player. Hopefully we were able to provide you with some useful tips for improving your own youth system on FM23 and beyond!
