The Paris Saint-Germain FC Youth Academy (French: Centre de formation du Paris Saint-Germain FC), commonly referred to as the Paris Saint-Germain Youth Academy or simply PSG Youth Academy, is the youth system for the men's and women's football teams of Paris Saint-Germain. Managed by the Association Paris Saint-Germain, the men's section of the academy was founded in 1970, with its first center opening in 1975. PSG began developing young players for the women's section in 2012, and the first women's center of the academy was inaugurated in 2023. Campus PSG in Poissy is currently the training ground and home stadium for both sections.
Recognized as one of the best in the country, the PSG Youth Academy has been named Best Youth Club by the French Football Federation four times. Nationally, its teams have won 16 trophies, including 13 league titles and a Coupe Gambardella. At the European level, they have won two titles: a Tournoi Européen des Centres U21 and a Montaigu Tournament. Internationally, the youth teams have won a record three Alkass International Cups. Finally, at the regional level, they have won three Coupe de Paris.
The Paris Saint-Germain FC Youth Academy, like the club itself, was founded on 12 August 1970.[1][2] Its first generation of graduates emerged in the 1972–73 season: Éric Renaut, Patrice Zbinden, Claude Rivet, Patrice Turpin, Bernard Lambert, Michel Llodra, Thierry Coutard[fr], Robin Leclercq and Richard Vanquelles.[3] All of these players would go on to make the first team, with Renaut being the most successful, amassing 290 appearances during his decade at the club.[3][4] They were part of the club's reserve team that won the Coupe de Paris in 1971–72 and 1972–73, the academy's first titles. PSG won their third and final Coupe de Paris in 1979–80.[3][5]
On 4 November 1975, the first academy center was opened at the Camp des Loges, under the direction of Pierre Alonzo. That season's generation was led by Jean-Marc Pilorget and Thierry Morin. They made their professional debuts against Reims in a league match at the Parc des Princes on 21 December 1975. Pilorget made 435 official appearances for PSG, the second most in the club's history.[6] Morin played the majority of his career at PSG and is currently the general secretary of the Association Paris Saint-Germain.[1][6][7]
The 1980s and 1990s saw the emergence of another generation of young players, including Richard Dutruel, Francis Llacer, Pascal Nouma and Bernard Allou. Before making their senior team debuts, they won the Championnat National des Cadets title in 1988 and the Coupe Gambardella in 1991 with the academy.[5][8][9] In 1993, the men's U17 won the Montaigu Tournament and finished runners-up in the Plougonvelin Tournament. The PSG Youth Academy was given the Best Youth Club award by the French Football Federation (FFF) in 1989.[5]
Dutruel, Llacer, Nouma and Allou were all part of the club's 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final triumph. Jérôme Leroy, Pierre Ducrocq and Nicolas Anelka also made their first-team debuts during that decade.[3] Anelka pioneered leaving PSG for a modest fee due to a lack of game time. He signed for Arsenal in 1997, aged 17.[10][11] During the late 1990s and early 2000s, only Sylvain Distin and Bartholomew Ogbeche managed to break into the first team and establish themselves.[3][4] Furthermore, the youth teams failed to win any trophies.[5]
Fortunes changed in the late 2000s, as PSG began their rise to the top of French youth football.[3]Clément Chantôme and Mamadou Sakho were the two most successful players of those years. They won the club's first Championnat National U19 in 2006 and became first-team regulars, making over 200 appearances and winning several trophies.[3][4][12] Sakho also captained the club from 2011 to 2012.[13] The Tournoi Carisport won by the U19 team in 2008 marked the beginning of an era of unprecedented success for the academy.[5]
Between 2009 and 2019, the PSG Youth Academy dominated the national scene. In 2010, the men's U19 team won the Championnat National final against Monaco, while the men's U17 side lost to Sochaux on penalties.[10] The club also began developing a women's section within the academy to strengthen its first team with players from its youth academy.[14] In 2011, PSG became the first club to be crowned French champions at both men's levels. The U19s won their second consecutive title, while the U17s defeated arch-rivals Marseille in the final to secure their first Championnat National U17 title.[10] PSG were awarded the Best Youth Club award for the second time in history in recognition of their U17/U19 double. They won it again in 2013 and 2014.[5][10]
The U19s reached another final in 2012, but would have to wait until 2016 and their victory over Lyon to be crowned champions again. That same season, following back-to-back silver medals in 2014 and 2015, the U17s defeated Saint-Étienne to also win the title, giving PSG their second double. They claimed their second consecutive championship and third overall after beating Monaco in 2017.[10] The women's department performed equally well. As planned, the club began developing players at the Bougival training center in 2012, with Grace Geyoro becoming the first graduate to play for the professional team in 2014.[14][15][16][17] Between 2014 and 2019, the women's U19 team reached the Championnat National Féminin U19[fr] final six times, winning three of them. They defeated Lyon in 2016, 2017 and 2019 to claim the trophy.[5][18][19]
PSG also excelled at European and international level. The U19s first reached the final of the UEFA Youth League in 2016, narrowly losing to Chelsea, and then defeated Monaco to win the Tournoi Européen des Centres U21[fr] in 2018.[10][20] Meanwhile, the U17s won the inaugural Alkass International Cup in 2012 and reached the final in 2013, before reclaiming the trophy in 2015 and 2018.[10]
In May 2019, following the end of the 2018–19 season, the club decided to disband its men's reserve team and focus on the U19s starting from the 2019–20 campaign.[10][24] The reserves competed in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French football.[7][24] The 2019–20 season would have been the academy's first without its reserve team, but the FFF suspended all amateur football leagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.[25] As the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread, the FFF also canceled the 2020–21 campaign for amateur teams.[26]
Despite the enforced inactivity, the FFF still recognized the PSG Youth Academy as the best youth system in the country in 2019 and 2020.[27] In the 2021–22 season, the first to be completed since the pandemic began, the men's U19s and U17s were eliminated at the semi-final stage of their championships, while the women's U19s finished second, behind Lyon.[28][29][30] The 2022–23 campaign played out in a similar fashion: the women's U19s finished behind Lyon once again, the men's U17s failed to qualify for the championship phase, and the men's U19s lost the final to Nantes.[31][32][33]
On 2 August 2023, after developing their young talents in the U19 team since 2012, the club opened the first women's PSG Youth Academy center, led by technical director Sonia Haziraj.[14][34] At the time, there were ten players in the first-team squad who had come through the club's academy, most notably Katoto, Geyoro, Baltimore and Laurina Fazer, all of whom had played for France's youth teams and then progressed to the senior team.[34]
After beating Auxerre 3–1 in the final, with goals from Senny Mayulu and Mahamadou Sangaré, PSG clinched the U19 title in 2024. Coached by Zoumana Camara, the Parisians finished top of their group and enjoyed a dominant knockout campaign. Sangaré's hat trick gave PSG a 5–0 victory over Lyon in the quarter-finals, before they defeated Marseille 2–0 in the semi-finals, thanks to goals from Mayulu and Ibrahim Mbaye.[35]
In October 2024, the club created the Espoirs, an additional team within its youth academy, restricted to players under the age of 23, to maximize the playing time of PSG's youngsters and allow them to compete against elite players, thus ensuring a smooth transition to professional teams. The Espoirs participate in the Challenge Espoirs, a competition organized by the FFF. In addition, matches are scheduled throughout the season against teams from Régional 2, Championnat National and Ligue 2, as well as against elite teams from French and foreign professional clubs. Some Espoirs players who meet the eligibility criteria are also called up for UEFA Youth League matches.[36]
U19 double (2024–Present)
In the 2024–25 season, the women's U19s claimed their fourth league title and first since 2019 after finishing top of the table, while the men's U19s won back-to-back league titles and their sixth overall, coming from behind to beat Nantes 2–1 in the final, to secure the academy's first U19 double.[37][38] The men's U17 were not so fortunate, losing the Alkass Cup final to Real Madrid.[39] Meanwhile, the Espoirs had a difficult debut season, winning just one match and finishing bottom of their group in the Challenge Espoirs.[40] They are also participating in the Premier League International Cup, an under-23 competition previously contested by the men's U19, for the 2025–26 edition.[41]
The Paris Saint-Germain Youth Academy is currently located at Campus PSG in Poissy.[42] Its main stadium, with a capacity of 1,100 spectators, as well as the other 15 football pitches in the complex, host the home matches of the three youth teams: the men's U19 and U17 categories, and the women's U19 category.[43] Campus PSG became the training ground of the PSG Youth Academy in January 2024, replacing the Camp des Loges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[42][43] The latter had been the training facility for the club's youth teams since 1975, when the academy's first center was opened there.[6][44][45] They used to play their home matches at the Stade Georges Lefèvre, the main stadium of the Camp des Loges.[6][46][47]
The men's U19s played their first match at Campus PSG on 21 January 2024: a 5–0 win over Le Havre in the Championnat National U19.[48] The men's U17s made their debut on 28 January 2024, with a 2–0 win against Versailles in the Championnat National U17.[49] The women's U19s beat Guingamp 5–0 in the Championnat National Féminin U19 on 11 February 2024 in their first match there.[50][51] The Espoirs, however, lost against Nantes 1–3 in the Challenge Espoirs in their inaugural match at Campus PSG on 26 October 2024.[52]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The Titi d'Or is an annual award presented by Les Titis du PSG to the two most promising players, one male and one female, from the Paris Saint-Germain FC Youth Academy, as voted for by their peers. Les Titis du PSG is an association affiliated to Paris Saint-Germain that covers the club's academy. All previous winners have become professional footballers after receiving the trophy, with many going on to play for PSG's professional teams.[62][63]
The award has been given to male players since 2007, with the exception of 2010 due to the transfer of the Les Titis du PSG website. Since 2019, it has also been awarded to the most talented female player.[62][63]Hervin Ongenda and Kingsley Coman have each won the award twice, more than any other player. In February 2025, during the 2024 Titi d'Or ceremony, PSG and Les Titis du PSG paid tribute to the late Moroccan player Abdelaziz Barrada, the first winner of the Titi d'Or in 2007. The most recent recipients are male striker Ibrahim Mbaye and female goalkeeper Alyssa Fernandes, who won the 2024 Titi d'Or.[63]
Voted for by the public until 2011, the Titi d'Or has since been chosen by peer vote. Players from the U17s, U19s and Espoirs teams who have played a maximum of five matches for PSG's professional team or throughout their career are eligible for the award. Their teammates fill out a ballot with the names of the three players, in order of preference, they consider worthy of this distinction. The vote is secret. The first-place finisher receives 5 points, the second 3, and the third 1. The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the most first places is chosen as PSG's most promising player.[62]
The Association Paris Saint-Germain Football, Association loi 1901, created on 12 August 1970, formalized the club's foundation. This nonprofit organization, based at the Camp des Loges, operates the amateur section of Paris Saint-Germain, which includes elite youth players, both male and female, through the PSG Youth Academy, as well as senior, veteran, and young adult players from the Paris Region in separate teams. Therefore, all PSG players, except those of the two professional teams, are under the supervision of the association.[1][7][64]
Previously, the Association PSG managed the club's amateur and professional activities for two decades. When Canal+ acquired PSG in May 1991, it created the Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (SASP, i.e., professional sports public limited company). Now two independent entities, each with a different president, the association transferred the professional section to the SASP, while retaining control of the amateur section. The two organizations signed a new 10-year agreement in 2019.[1]
Between 1970 and 2012, the club's professional section only included the men's team, Paris Saint-Germain FC.[1] Founded in 1971, the women's team, Paris Saint-Germain FC (women), was initially amateur. When the team became professional in September 2012, it separated from the association and became part of the SASP.[1][65][66][67] Currently, the club's amateur section is composed of the men's and women's teams of the PSG Youth Academy.[1][68]
The Association PSG has had nine presidents.[1][69]Benoît Rousseau is the current president.[1] He has held the position since December 2012.[69]Pierre-Étienne Guyot was the first president of both the association and the SASP, while Simon Tahar was the last to preside over both simultaneously, as well as the first women's team.[69][70]Alain Cayzac also held both positions. He was president of the association between 2001 and 2006, and then president of the SASP between 2006 and 2008.[69]
↑ "Stade Georges Lefèvre". Centre de préparation aux Jeux de Paris2024. 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
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