It's no secret that the journey to becoming a professional footballer requires a unique level of commitment. To succeed, you have to dedicate your life to it.
However, in 2026, more than ever, it is crucial not to neglect your education. In France, youth academies strive to achieve this balance. The idea is to ensure that no player, male or female, is left behind. Paris Saint-Germain has fully understood this and is working to establish a sustainable model that will ultimately impact the sporting side and, in the long run, Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
"Everyone who has contributed so far can be proud of what PSG has created," said Yohan Cabaye, former midfielder and PSG's current youth academy director, during a public speech for the 50th anniversary of the academy in November 2025.
We highlight the triple project: sports, academics, and extracurricular activities. It's a comprehensive project. We emphasise it every day. Being able to work daily is about providing players for the first team. We must remain humble and keep working in this direction."
'More than just footballers'
This June, while the 2026 FIFA World Cup is in full swing, it's a crucial time for young Parisians: the baccalaureate exams. Their club is guiding them toward their first academic achievement.
"They understand that we place as much importance on academic results as on what happens on the pitch, with the coach," Cabaye explained.
"Last year, we had a 95% pass rate at the BAC, so we're on the right track to develop these boys. You need this academic background, because that's the image you'll project in the group, on TV - it's extremely important, and we care about that."
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A message that resonates with the current period. At present, around thirty teachers are supporting the 33 students taking the 2026 baccalaureate. There is little doubt that the results will be positive, continuing the trend of recent years since the creation of the PSG Campus Educational City.
The goal is to "train more than just footballers", as the club puts it. A model has been developed to bring young people together in one place to receive athletic, academic, medical, nutritional, and educational support. Pedagogy is at the heart of the values promoted, enabling students to succeed.
To this end, they are guided along various pathways that help them learn more than just football.
By the end of their program, they become true citizens, already able to plan for life after their playing careers, to be aware of "prevention and public health issues," and to develop a solid cultural foundation.
All that remains is to demonstrate what they've learned during exams in philosophy, economics and management, social and economic sciences, or history and geography - not to mention the speciality exams and the grand oral starting June 24thl.
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Becoming a pro at PSG: an obvious path?
"It's ongoing work, we communicate a lot with the teaching team," said Ms Tarhoui, a teacher at the PSG Academy.
"We also have the support of Ms Guerinel, Mr Trouchon, the CPE, and Mr Rahoui, the Director of Education. We organise many meetings and educational councils to exchange ideas and create the best resources to make school life a bit easier for our students."
And it seems that this educational collaboration is going very well, says goalkeeper Jade Dubois, who's been with Paris Saint-Germain since 2023.
"In terms of academics, we are very well supported. Since our class sizes are small, it helps a lot. Sometimes, there are just two of us in class with the teacher, which allows us to be much more efficient and to benefit from personalised support," Dubois said.
Now, the connection with current sporting events is clear. Beyond the success of some young players trained at the club who have made it to the first team, such as Warren Zaïre-Emery, Senny Mayulu, Ibrahim Mbaye and Quentin Ndjantou.
But looking deeper, the 2025-2026 season has also been a success for the academy. The players trained there helped PSG win the Coupe Gambardella, the French Under-18 Cup, for the first time since 1991. In addition, the U19 and U17 teams were crowned French champions.
Finally, let's not forget that the Under-19s reached the UEFA Youth League semifinals after a very impressive run in the 2025-26 season. The goal is to do even better next season, and it's a collective effort within the PSG Campus.
All these factors point in the same direction: the future of these young players lies within the club. Becoming a professional footballer is now more tangible than ever. Paris Saint-Germain is determined to secure its young talents. It was in this context that many youngsters received contract offers in November 2025.
Meritocracy is at the heart of the discussion, and financial recognition clearly goes hand in hand with sporting success. Recently, several career choices have shown that trying your luck elsewhere is not always a guarantee. Ibrahima Diaby (Cercle Bruges), Mahamadou Sangaré (Manchester City), Axel Tape (Bayer Leverkusen) and Étienne Michut (Rio Ave) have, for now, not succeeded in their gamble.
That's part of the unpredictability of a youth academy. For Paris Saint-Germain, the stakes are high, and the project is built for the long term.
