Youth academy and training: how to develop stars in Master Liga

In a football manager game, few things feel as good as watching an academy kid become a starter. In Master Liga it isn't down to luck: prospects arrive on their own and for free, but how much they turn into depends on you, through the training focus, the training center and the moment you promote each one.

This post explains how the youth academy and training work and how to get the most out of both. If you're just starting out, read the first season guide first.

How prospects reach the academy

Every new club starts with 5 prospects in the academy. After that, more arrive from time to time, 1 to 3 at once, and you get a notification. The academy holds at most 12 players, and when it's full nobody new arrives.

What to know about them:

• They arrive aged 15 to 22, but most are 15 or 16.
• They cost nothing. No wages, no contract, no shirt number.
• They don't play matches and can't be starters. They improve through training only.
• They don't count toward the main squad limit. Only you can see your academy.
• Not every prospect is raw. Their level varies a lot, and now and then one arrives with an overall good enough to compete for a place in the first team. Check the academy every time a notification comes in.

Make room for the promising ones

Since the academy is capped at 12 and new arrivals need a free spot, an academy full of weak prospects blocks new talent. Release player costs nothing for academy players, so let go of those with no future and keep the spot for the next one.

There is also a deadline: a prospect who spends 5 seasons in the academy without an offer is released as a free agent. The Seasons remaining in the academy column shows how long each one has left.

How training works

Training lives in the Training panel, on My club. It is applied once a day (after the match or, on days without a game, at the end of the day) and covers everyone, first team and academy.

You don't pick a "training type". You pick a target skill, in two ways:

• By position: one skill for each group (goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards).
• By player: one skill for a specific player, from the squad or the academy.

The individual focus overrides the group focus. Each group or player trains one skill at a time, and choosing another replaces the previous one.

You can only train skills that are useful for the position: a goalkeeper can't train shooting, and a striker can't train marking. Each position also gets more out of some skills than others, like reflexes and handling for goalkeepers.

If no focus is set, nobody improves through training. The panel warns you when that happens. Set at least the position focus in your very first round.

Training doesn't tire or injure anyone, so there's no reason to leave the focus off.

Who improves fastest

Two factors drive the pace of training:

1. Age. Up to 21, a player improves at full speed. After that the gain drops with each age bracket, and from 29 on it is already small.
2. How far the skill is from 99. A low skill rises fast, and near the cap the gain gets very small. A skill at 40 improves several times faster than one at 80.

In practice, training pays off most on young players and on weak skills that matter for the position. So:

• Use the player focus on your most promising prospects and target the weakness that hurts most in their position, like passing for a midfielder or speed for a winger.
• When the trained skill goes past 80, switch to another one that is still low. Training still counts, but it yields less.
• For veterans, training changes little. The position focus is enough there.

Training center: is it worth it?

Each training center level speeds up training for the whole club, but raises the upkeep charged every season:

Upgrades go one level at a time. The cost leaves your cash immediately, but the new level only applies once the works finish.

The bonus multiplies everyone's training, so it's worth more for clubs with many young players in the squad and the academy. A veteran team barely feels it. Before upgrading, check that your income per season covers the new upkeep, not just the works. The finance guide explains how to run those numbers.

When to promote a prospect

Promoting means offering a professional contract with the Offer contract button: minimum wage of € 1,000, 1 to 5 seasons. The prospect answers the next round and always accepts their first contract, as long as there is still a free spot in the main squad (the limit is 30 players). On signing they get a shirt number, and the fans love to see the academy coming through.

The decision is a balance between two sides:

• In the academy, they're free, but they only train. They don't play, so they miss the growth from matches and the end-of-season gain, which depends on minutes played.
• In the first team, they cost wages, but they play. Players who play improve after every match, and under-23s improve faster on the pitch. At the season rollover, the extra gain is bigger for the youngest, and about 6 full games already secure the maximum.

So the rule is: promote when the prospect can actually play. A 16-year-old who would never get on the pitch trains just as well in the academy, without wages. An 18 or 19-year-old who can be a useful backup and add a few full games per season gains much more in the first team.

Signs it's time:

1. Their overall is already close to the backup in that position.
2. They are 19 or 20 and still haven't played a single match. Every season without minutes is end-of-season growth thrown away.
3. Their seasons remaining in the academy are running out.
4. The academy is full and you need room for new arrivals.

After promoting, make sure they get on the pitch. A promoted prospect who only sits on the bench costs wages without using the advantage of playing.

Summary: a simple plan

1. Set the position focus in your very first round.
2. Use the player focus on your most promising prospects, targeting weak skills that matter for the position.
3. Release those with no future to make room in the academy.
4. Promote when the prospect can play, ideally before 20, and give them minutes.
5. Upgrade the training center when the squad is young and your cash can handle the upkeep.

The full rules are in How to play.

Don't have a club yet? See how Master Liga compares to other free online football manager games, or create yours for free and get your first academy prospects today.