The Heliopolis Academy was born a year ago to reduce the need to search the market to have a quality professional First Team, despite the risk that this posed to the long-term sustainability of the club, and strengthen the Betis tradition of cultivating youth teams that historically have produced great results.

Therefore, the objective of the Heliopolis Academy is to provide players for the First Team and, like any objective should be measured over time and quantitatively. So, the principle challenge is that in ten years time 70% of the Real Betis players will have come from the club's academy.

Any project that is to be executed following rigorous evaluation methods has different phases. The first stage was the most important. As in any creation that looks for a solid base, the make up of the foundations are key to ensure strength and resilience in the future. Therefore, during this first year, Heliopolis has focused on strengthening its pillars in different areas, which will project development over the next few years based on solid principles. These areas are:

1.Economic resources. The Club's Board of Directors has defined a budgetary allocation for the development of the Academy of approximately 10% of the club's total budget.

2.Organization. The organization of the working structure is key to implementing the best formula to design training plans. This organization required the services of professionals, facilities, financial and technical resources to cover as many categories of players in the best conditions; in addition to defining resource management to ensure player development and proper evaluation, collectively and individually by the professionals responsible for their apprenticeship.

3.Facilities. The scale of the project required appropriate facilities which adapted to the needs of this organization, so the search for a new location was required, in addition to those already available, to guarantee the best conditions, safety, open spaces and technical resources for education and training. To this end we would highlight a new place of work, nonexistent up until then, for technical staff meetings in addition to training courses and coordination meetings. New resources and thorough planning of their use so that all the youth teams have standardized and satisfactory training sessions and matches.

The combined resources at the Luis del Sol Training Centre with more than 44,000 m2, the Olympic Stadium on the La Cartuja Island and the sports facilities at the University Pablo de Olavide. However, the club's interest in continuously improving development processes of the sporting activity at all levels has prompted them to undertake the construction of a new building at the Training Centre, which will offer more space and comfort for all areas related to both the first team and the Academy (medical and rehabilitation services, gymnasium, classrooms) and new comfortable installations for the fans (stands, car park, cafeteria). These facilities will be opened in the first quarter of 2014.

The Club also has a residence for young players, located but a few meters from the Training Centre, for academic tutoring and physical preparation of 28 players, fully equipped and with permanent academic and football staff focussed on the development of residents.

5.Technology. The day to day of the Real Betis Academy - training, matches, courses, medical examinations or recovery treatment - the technical staff provides a wealth of information that must be managed with rigour and efficiency to establish game parameters, levels of performance, prevention models, assimilation of disciplines, sporting attitudes, etc..

To this end, the incorporation of powerful software called DIRECTOR 11 has been very useful. This is a data storage and management system used by more affluent clubs to manage their academies, allowing them to professionalize and systematize the work processes, sporting records and training notes for each player. DIRECTOR 11 impeccably responds to the need for objective, quantitative and measurable data used to make decisions regarding a player's career.

In addition to DIRECTOR 11 the Training Centre has installed closed circuit cameras and analysis software which contribute to improved individual training plans for players and teams.

6.Professionals. The bottom line for any large company is measured in terms of the level of competence, commitment, quality, experience, rigour and reliability of the professional team running it. It is for this reason that this area has been the subject to the closest scrutiny at Heliopolis. The relationship with potential players requires a great amount of skill. Recognizing this, the Club has spared no effort in putting the best people in charge of the training process (sporting plans), resource management and economic control of the Academy. Achieving demanding levels of traceability, demonstrable and measurable in all areas of work, was and is the objective.

Specific activities at Heliopolis over the year:

- Expanding the network of scouts.

- Promoting the coordination and process of player selection.

- Incorporation of new technologies to document information, individually and collectively, for use in recruitment processes.

- Establishment of a training courses for the professionals at Heliopolis, as well as establishing a specific meeting schedule by areas.

- Use of new technologies for individual and collective analysis of the Heliopolis teams.

- Meetings amongst the coaching teams at Heliopolis to create a common style of training and playing patterns.

- Strengthening the integral education curriculum for the players.

Some figures on Heliopolis:

- NUMBER OF TEAMS AT THE ACADEMY: 17 (14 male + 3 female, 2 of which are professional)

- NUMBER OF PLAYERS AT THE ACADEMY: 319 (253 male + 66 female)

- NUMBER OF COACHES: 40

- M2 OF SPORTING INSTALLATIONS IN TOTAL: 68,297 m2 (44,273 + 24,025 Training Centre facilities for conventions)

- NUMBER OF TRAINING HOURS: 84 per week (4 hours and 54 minutes of training per week per team, on average)

- NUMBER OF PLAYERS IN RESIDENCE: 28 in 2013/14 season, up until 6/10/2013