December 15 – Dutch giants Ajax have trained more players for World Cup teams (11) than any other club, according to latest data from the CIES Football Observatory.
The data looks at ‘Training clubs’ which are defined as those where players have stayed for at least three years between the seasons of their 15th and 21st birthdays.
Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) and Al Sadd (Qatar), rank second and third but provided the bulk of their players to their own national team squads. Neither country reached the knockout stages.
Ajax also are joint top of the ranking of clubs who trained players in teams that reached the knock out stages of the competition (8), alongside Dinamo Zagreb and Sporting CP.
Manchester City has trained players for the most national teams – six.
The CIES report authors point out: “Six English clubs and a Welsh one are in the top 50 of the table: Manchester City (7 players trained), Liverpool (also 7), Chelsea (6), Swansea City (6), Arsenal (5), Manchester United (4) and Tottenham Hotspur (4).”
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