Bristol City lead England's top two tiers for homegrown minutes
Written by Training Ground Guru —
BRISTOL CITY are the leading team in England’s top two divisions this season when it comes to fielding homegrown players.
The CIES has ranked teams in 60 leagues around the world according to the percentage of domestic league minutes played by ‘club-trained’ footballers during the current season (up to November 15th).
They define a club-trained player as one who has been with their club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21. Bristol City have fielded seven such players this term, accounting for 33.7% of their total league minutes.
Blackburn Rovers are second on 30.6%, having played eight players from their system, Middlesbrough third with 29.7% (five players), Leeds United fourth with 27.9% (six players) and Arsenal - the leading Premier League team - fifth with 22.1% (five players).
Three top-flight sides failed to field a single club-trained player - West Ham, Brentford and Luton Town.
Globally, Ukraine’s Dynamo Kiev are the top side for fielding club-trained players. An astonishing 82.9% of their league minutes have gone to club-trained players this season, with 18 such players featuring in 11 matches.
FK Minsk of Belarus are second with 71.5% (19 players) and Athletic Club of Bilbao third with 68.9% (14 players). The Basque side - who top the table for Europe's 'big five' leagues of England, Spain, France, Italy and Germany - are currently sixth in La Liga.
- Read full CIES report HERE