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We solve your doubts.
We solve your doubts.
Answers about the programs, the method, visas, and life in Leganés.
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The first thing all families ask
A school teaches football. A club teaches you how to play its football. The difference isn’t in the hours on the field, but in whether there’s a game idea behind those hours and someone to own it. At C.D. Leganés International Academy, the CDL Method is led by Faissal Chehade Chehade, International Methodology Director and UEFA Pro coach, under the guidance of Karim Askoul, Director of the International Academy, also UEFA Pro. Training takes place at the club’s facilities, the Jesús Polo Annex Stadium and I.D. Butarque, and players under 16 join C.D. Leganés’ youth teams. An international player doesn’t enter a parallel program set up just for them: they join the club.
No. Of the more than 900 players who have gone through the academy since 2021, most didn't make it to professional football. That's the truth for any academy in the world, and anyone who says otherwise is selling something else. What the International Academy offers is not a result: it's a starting point. Training within a LaLiga club structure, with the CDL Method, competing against Spanish clubs, and coming out with an individual report that shows where the player really stands.
Three, and the focus isn’t on the duration but on what the player is looking for. Elite Intensive: from one week, the entry point, to measure yourself against the Spanish level. Performance Year: from 6 to 12 months with a student visa, a full season within the club, with a Progression Plan. Academic Year: from 6 to 12 months with a student visa, formal studies in High School, International Baccalaureate, A-Levels, or university at the European University of Madrid, with the sports schedule built around the classes.
Females from 12 to 23 years old and males from 8 to 23 years old. Those under 16 join the youth teams of C.D. Leganés in their age and skill group; spots in these categories are very limited. From 16 years old, players train in the International Academy teams. Gender is a dimension of each program, not a separate program.
It depends on the program. Elite Intensive starts at 300 euros, and its conditions depend on the length of stay and whether it includes accommodation, which is optional in this program. In Performance Year and Academic Year, the conditions are tailored to each case: factors include the months of stay, the type of accommodation, visa processing, and the training courses taken. Each application receives a proposal detailing their specific situation.
Elite Intensive accepts applications all year round, with start dates based on availability. Performance Year has a flexible start: the minimum duration is set at 6 months, not the entry month. Academic Year follows the academic calendar because enrollment depends on the semester. Programs that require a student visa need some lead time: expect two to three months from when you submit your application to the consulate. The club issues the admission letter that the consulate will ask for.
The programs
Elite Intensive, Performance Year & Academic Year
No. It's a training program within the club's structure, with evaluation and a technical report at the end. It's not a tryout and doesn't guarantee access to C.D. Leganés teams. What it does do is get you inside: you train with the club, with its method and coaches, and you leave knowing where you stand. Many players use Elite Intensive as a gateway to Performance Year or Academic Year.
From one week. You choose the duration. It's the most flexible program at the academy and the gateway to the club. The duration and your nationality determine if you need a visa. Any stay longer than 90 days requires a student visa, regardless of your nationality. And some passports need a Schengen visa from day one, even for just a week.
It’s a personalized plan that is made at the start of the program. It sets specific goals for the player in the physical, technical, tactical, and mental areas, supports their stay with continuous monitoring, and wraps up with the results achieved. This is what sets apart a season from a long stay: the work has direction and is measured.
Six months. What's being set is the minimum length, not the month of arrival: a player can join in August or October and still complete their season. The length you request determines the type of visa. For stays longer than six months, you'll need to apply for a Foreigner Identity Card when you get to Spain. And some consulates issue visas of six months or less without the possibility of extension: if you think you might want to extend your season, consider that before applying.
Official secondary studies —High School, International Baccalaureate, or A-Levels— and university programs at the European University of Madrid. Enrollment in High School and equivalent paths is managed through European School of Sports, a school specialized in dual careers for athletes. The path is defined on a case-by-case basis, depending on age and records. C.D. Leganés doesn’t provide the training: it coordinates it with certified partners.
The sports schedule is built around the academic calendar. Training is done with the teams of the International Academy, and the planning is coordinated with classes. It's the dual career model: neither activity takes priority over the other. Nouf Al-Anzi earned her MBA while competing in the Spanish women's first division.
The student visa requires enrollment in a formal course. The training is defined case by case—Spanish course or coaching training—and it is organized through the European School of Sports, a school specialized in dual careers for athletes. University programs are taken at the European University of Madrid. C.D. Leganés does not provide the training: it coordinates it with certified partners.
Academic Year includes guidance and the option for scholarships at North American universities. It's one of the reasons why it's the European alternative to college soccer: studying in Spain doesn't close the door to the U.S. university system.
Train and compete
The CDL Method, the week, and measurement
The CDL Method is the training methodology of the International Academy of C.D. Leganés, a LaLiga club. It revolves around a game model that works on the 5 phases —attack, defense, offensive transition, defensive transition, and set pieces—, individual objectives by position, a weekly work system called Train to Thrive, and data tracking through GPS and video analysis. This is how the CDL Method works. The methodological direction is led by Faissal Chehade Chehade, International Methodology Director and UEFA Pro coach, under the supervision of Karim Askoul, Director of the International Academy, also UEFA Pro.
The 5 phases of the game are attack, defense, offensive transition, defensive transition, and set pieces. The CDL Method defines which actions correspond to each area of the field in each phase, and the player keeps creative freedom to make decisions within that framework. A phase isn’t trained in isolation: the player understands where the ball is, what just happened, and what’s expected of them at that moment in the game.
The teams at the International Academy train 4 to 5 times a week, with a day off. These sessions include one video analysis session and one gym session, at no extra cost. This is a typical week: the exact schedule depends on the microcycle of each week, matches, and club events. Players under 16 join the youth teams of C.D. Leganés and follow their category's schedule. The women's teams have their own plan.
Players under 16 join the youth teams of C.D. Leganés, in their age group and level: they train with the elite section of the club's development stage. Spots in these categories are very limited. From 16 years old, the player trains with the teams of the International Academy.
Players over 18 years old, or over 16 if they are from the EU, can sign up for C.D. Leganés teams and compete in official matches. The teams from the International Academy, starting at age 16, regularly play friendly matches against Spanish clubs. In the youth categories, for those under 16, participation in matches depends on each week's sports planning: playing time is not guaranteed.
With data, not impressions. When you arrive, a starting point and individual objectives are set for each position. Every session is recorded: physical load with GPS, gameplay with VEO camera, and Eyeball analysis. What was said in September is checked in June. The result is an individual report with 4 sections — physical, technical, tactical, and mental — built with data from the entire stay. The player can request it at the end, and once issued, it’s theirs and never expires. An opinion about a player that isn’t based on data is just an opinion. And you don’t make career decisions based on an opinion.
An individual progress report with 4 sections: physical, technical, tactical, and mental, prepared with the data collected during the stay through GPS and video analysis. It is issued at the player's request and is the same across the three programs of the International Academy. In Performance Year, it also includes the goals set at the beginning and the results achieved. Once issued, it's yours, and it doesn't expire.
Yes. The CDL Method works on three dimensions together: thinking, action, and emotion. Thinking is developed with precise tactical explanation to nurture each player's understanding of the game; action, with daily physical execution on the field and in the gym; emotion, by building identity and a sense of belonging. The mental part is one of the four that make up the individual progression report.
VisA AND RESIDENCE
What your passport needs, and when
It depends on your nationality and how long you'll be staying. EU citizens don’t need a visa. Nationals from visa-exempt countries —like the US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, or the UK, among others— can train for up to 90 days without a visa. People from other countries need a Schengen visa from day one, even if it's just for a week. Any stay longer than 90 days requires a student visa, no matter your nationality. What matters for the requirement is your passport, not your country of residence.
The 180 days aren't a calendar block and they don't reset on January 1st: it's a rolling window. Each day you want to enter Spain, the authorities look back at the previous 180 days and add up all the days you've spent in the Schengen Area, which is 29 countries. If the total reaches 90, you can't enter. Leaving the Schengen Area doesn't reset the count. The days you enter and leave count as full days: if you arrive on a Monday and leave on a Wednesday, that's 3 days, not 2. The European Commission publishes an official calculator that does this calculation. Check your case based on your nationality and duration.
You have two to three months from when you submit the application, and you should request it at least two months before the program starts. The timeline doesn’t depend solely on the consulate: when you apply for a student visa, a residence permit for studies is also processed in parallel at the Foreigners’ Office of the province where you’ll be studying. That permit can take up to two months, and then the consulate has another month to issue the visa. Don’t buy your plane tickets until your visa is approved.
It depends on the length of your stay. Up to 90 days, no: your passport, and the Schengen visa if your nationality requires it, are enough. Between 90 days and 6 months, also no: the student visa itself lets you stay for the entire program. More than 6 months, yes: you must apply for the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) within a month of your arrival, with an appointment at the Foreigners Office or Police Station corresponding to your address in Madrid.
It’s not the recommended route. The student visa is applied for at the Spanish consulate in your home country or country of legal residence. Applying from Spain is only considered in specific cases, requires being in legal status, and submitting the application within strict deadlines. Processing it from your country is the proper way and avoids refusals and problems for future entries.
No. The short-stay regime covers sports events and short-term studies: training at the academy is not a work activity. Working does require a visa and permit, even for stays under 90 days. With a study visa and a stay longer than 6 months, regulations allow the possibility of combining study with limited-hour work, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the training. In any case, the academy’s programs are full-time.
It depends on the country: there isn’t a single procedure. At some consulates, you request an appointment by email directly to the consulate. In other countries, applications are submitted through BLS International, a company authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. BLS receives the documents and forwards them to the consulate, but they don’t decide on your visa or advise on which type you need. There are no paid appointments or fast-track processes: anyone offering them is committing fraud. Check the website of the Spanish consulate in your country before starting any procedure.
ETIAS is expected to start operating in the last quarter of 2026, although the European Commission hasn’t confirmed the exact date yet. It’s an electronic travel authorization for visa-exempt travelers, with a fee of 20 euros. It’s not a visa and doesn’t change the 90/180 rule. If you’re coming from a visa-exempt country and traveling from that date onward, you’ll need to apply before you fly. Travelers under 18 and over 70 are exempt from the fee, but still need to apply.
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Each application is evaluated individually. Tell us about your case and the International Area will get back to you with the conditions and availability for your profile.
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