Why You Should Pay Attention to the Venezuelan Primera Division

Venezuelan football is growing. The Venezuelan Primera Division - known as Liga FUTVE - is growing. The global COVID19 pandemic may have severely affected the clubs, the national teams, and the organising bodies themselves, but the Venezuelan football ecosystem has come out the other side and is growing.

On 22 January 2022, The International Football Federation of History and Statistics (IFFHS) published “The Strongest National League in the World 2021”, and Venezuela’s Liga FUTVE had risen 20 places from the previous year to 50th, overtaking the top flights of South American neighbours Chile (55th) and Peru (65th), and even placing above the USA’s MLS (62nd).

Its position above MLS in particular may seem controversial, so, as the IFFHS only rank the top divisions of each country, we can look at TeamForm’s standings for further context because they rank all leagues. According to TeamForm, Liga FUTVE is currently the 62nd strongest league globally, above England’s League One (65th), The Republic of Ireland’s Premier Division (95th), England's League Two (121st), and Northern Ireland's Premiership (123rd). In that ranking, MLS are 50th.

Liga FUTVE’s ranking of 62nd positions it just 7 places below Scotland’s top flight (55th). The English Premier League is 1st and the Championship is 24th.

Championship teams scout League One as second nature, often handpicking the division's best talent, and look further down the English football ladder too, yet it is incredibly rare that a Venezuelan ever moves directly from South America to any league in the United Kingdom. Of course, work permit eligibility has often been a hindrance, but that - to an extent - has lessened.

Under The FA’s post-Brexit points-based system for work permits, it has never been easier to acquire South American talent - particularly players under 21. Historically, Venezuela has been overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. They were U20 World Cup finalists vs. England in 2017, have an export market with high sell-on potential, and some of the best teenagers in the world.

One of the Top 30 Net Profit Markets Globally

In FIFA’s Report on International Football Transfers Worldwide 2011-2020, Venezuela ranked 28th in the Top 30 Associations Whose Clubs Made a Net Profit From International Transfers, making $50.1m. There were a total of 831 outgoing transfers in that time, but only 14.9% with fees. That means when a fee is paid for a player coming out of Venezuela, it averages at $404k/￡302k for players such as Josef Martinez, Wuilker Farí?ez, Yeferson Soteldo, Yangel Herrera, and Daniel Perez.

Even more noteworthy is the money made on players’ next moves. Salomón Rondón left Venezuela for well under ￡1m (reports as low as $250k), yet his combined transfer fees since total $75.32m/￡61.62m.

How and Why?

One major factor influencing Venezuela’s increasing market prominence was their Juvenile Rule (2007-2021), which stipulated that every starting XI had to contain at least one U20 player. This resulted in many players gaining thousands of minutes before their 20th birthday.

The prime example of this reaping rewards was the national team’s spectacular run to the U20 World Cup Final in 2017. More recently, In CIES’s two Top 100 Teenagers Lists of 2021, 4 Venezuelans from Liga FUTVE have featured: Yerson Chacon (18th, Post 328), Telasco Segovia (20th, Post 328), Jon Aramburu (62nd, Post 344), and Carlos Vivas (95th, Post 344, now on loan at Portland Timbers II).

The list ranked teenagers by the experience gained "in official senior matches over the course of the year" with the "minutes [played] weighted by sporting strength of employer clubs or competitions played."

In CIES' latest Top 100 list, Brazil and Argentina were the only South American countries with more players listed. The combined transfermarkt value of the four Venezuelans at the time of the list's publication was $800k; it is now $1.21m. Chacon and Segovia have both since made their official debuts for the senior national team of Venezuela and, along with Aramburu, will showcase their talents at the upcoming Toulon Tournament.?

Along with a goldmine of young talent, experienced players have also proven wise acquisitions overseas. For example, in 2020 Philadelphia Union’s signed a then 25yo José Andres Martinez from Zulia FC for a reported $325k. He was nominated for MLS Best Newcomer that same year and in 2021 had the third-highest amount of Challenges Won by a defensive midfielder (252|9 p90).

With its growing prominence, the Venezuelan market has also become increasingly attractive to European clubs looking to strengthen midseason. As league schedules and player contracts run January to December in South America, many good players are regularly available on free transfers during the European winter transfer windows.

A Look to the Future

Although the Juvenile Rule was scrapped ahead of the 2022 season, loosely replaced by an U23 league, 11 of the 16 teams still started an U20 player, 8 of which (50%) started a player 18 or younger. The behaviour, despite no obligation, looks set to prove an engrained habit in Venezuelan football. The first Player of the Week in the 2022 season was Andres Romero, who scored a hattrick for Monagas SC in their 1-3 win over Mineros. He’s 18. His teammate David Martinez turned 16 on 7 February 2022 and has featured in 12 of their 13 league fixtures.

At the time of writing, Liga FUTVE is 13 games deep. In the latest round of fixtures, 13 teenagers started, featuring for 8 different teams.?It's a 50% drop off from what the regulation would've ensured but still an impressive showing.

Arguably more impressive is that for the past three years the most expensive transfer out of Venezuela has been an 18-year-old: Jeriel de Santis to Boavista for a reported fee of $1m (2020), Daniel Perez to Club Brugge for his $250k release clause (2021), and Jose Riasco to Philadelphia Union for between $1-1.5m (2022).

So, who could be the next big thing out of Venezuela?

Yerson Chacon (Winger|Deportivo Tachira)

The 2021 Liga FUTVE Player of the Year was a player who started the season aged just 17, but already had over 900 minutes to his name: Yerson Ronaldo Chacon. He had the highest xA (14), goal involvements (21: G10, A11), and Chances Created (40) of any 2003 born player across all of South America's premier divisions. Ahead of the 2022 season, his club turned down a six figure fee from an MLS club.

Telasco Segovia (Defensive Midfielder|Deportivo Lara)

The reigning Liga FUTVE Young Player of the Year is Telasco Segovia (actually two months older than Chacon). He is already of interest to several European clubs and would cost just shy of $1m. He has great technique, partnered with a high defensive and offensive work rate, giving him three makings of a well-rounded midfielder.

Samson Akinyoola (Striker|Caracas Futbol Club)

The 2021 Foreign Player of the Year?and Golden Boot Winner Samson Akinyoola (22), is valued at $1.5-2m by his club. He scored 20 goals in all competitions last year and this season is proving himself with goals in the Copa Libertadores group stages, too. His strength, combination play, and finishing more than makes up for his lack of height.

A big window of opportunity for European clubs to have their scouts see Venezuelan talent in the flesh will be on offer in the coming weeks, thanks the U21 National Team's first ever participation in the prestigious Toulon Tournament (officially the Tournoi Maurice Revello), which begins on 29 May 2022. Of the 22-man squad, 13 currently play their football in Venezuela, with another currently without a club: English-speaking, EU Passport holder Abraham Bahachille (21). They are in Group B alongside Indonesia, Mexico, and Ghana.

Jordan Florit (For more on Venezuelan football in English, follow @FUTVEEnglish)