The best Porto academy graduates since 2014 as club renames youth team training facilities 'New Balance Park'

Over the last decade, FC Porto have produced a pretty remarkable stream of young players that have either gone on to star in the first team at Estadio de Dragão or elsewhere. The city has always been a footballing hotbed and the Dragons have had consistent success hoovering up the very best players in the region.

For the past 10 years, New Balance has been with them every step of the way, first joining as a club partner in 2014. Recently, FC Porto announced that this fruitful relationship would be extended. The club is now a Global Partner of New Balance, signifying the sportswear giants' commitment to working with teams that align with their ethos and aim to challenge the status quo.

In addition, FC Porto's revered youth-team facilities at Campo da Constituição are also being renamed 'New Balance Park', with confirmation of that change set to be announced early next year. As part of their support of the next generation of football stars, New Balance has also signed sponsorship agreements with several of the club's youth team.

One youngster, Diogo, who GOAL met on a recent trip to the Dragão, could not help but smile when asked what it felt like to be a sponsored athlete at such a tender age.

"The main reason [for our steady stream of youth-team success stories] will always be the talent and the commitment to detecting and developing it. For us, having a partner like New Balance betting on our talents is a source of pride and a sign that we are doing good work," Pedro Albuquerque, head of FC Porto International, told GOAL.

Who knows? Perhaps one day Diogo will line up for the first team in Porto. If he does, he will be following in a long tradition of youth-team graduates who have made it all the way to the top.