Barcelona expands academy for youth players

Joseph Wilson
Associated Press/Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona has risen to the top of European football on the strength of its highly productive academy. Now, it's looking to expand its stock of homegrown talent through an expanded school facility to develop even more young players.

The new building was presented to the media on Friday and bears the name of the Catalan club's emblematic old residence, La Masia. By increasing its capacity from 60 to 83 players, Barca hopes to produce more stars like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas.