The Jupiler League in Belgium isnt one of the top leagues in Europe, in fact its rated by UEFA as the 12th best league in Europe, but what does it offer European football, teams, and players?The league is contested by 16 teams, with the top two qualifying for UEFA Champions League places and two others getting the opportunity to play in the Europa league. Anderlecht are the most prominent team, winning the league 30 times since its establishment, however in more recent years Standard Liege and Racing Genk have come to the fore and contested in the Champions League. The Geographical Location of BelgiumBelgium is in a prime location; nestled between the great footballing nations of Holland and France, with Dwyane Wade Jersey Germany and England close by. It may seem strange to suggest that the location of a country within Europe could have an effect on the footballing nature of the country, however as football and the ideas within it develop they become more popular and the sphere of influence increases. As Belgium sits between dominant forces in European football and shares languages, culture and history with its neighbours it is safe to a sume that it shares some parts of footballing identity with its neighbouringcountries. The location also helps prospective buyers of players and scouting networks because of its strong infrastructure.The Financial Improvement of ClubsUntil 1984 the financial positions of clubs were poor. The players were frequently involved with tax evasion and the teams were mostly funded by gate receipts, loans and interestingly, bars. The change during this year is attributed to an investigation by Bru sels District Attorney which uncovered a bribery scandal. The result was that the players involved were suspended for long terms, and the teams and players were heavily fined. Banks therefore became increasingly negative to awarding loans to teams and a busine s model was set up to help clubs; however this model soon disappeared when the 1995 Bosman ruling came into effect.In the early 2000s there were still problems for Belgian clubs and two clubs, including KV Mechelen had debts with the Belgian Football League and therefore did not receive their profe sional football licence. They were i sued with relegation to the third tier and a nine point reduction.It took a while for Belgian football to recover but as is the case with most countries, football has experienced a growth in interest in recent Miami Heat Hoodie years.The current average attendance is 11,676 which is, appropriately the 12th highest attendance in Europe This doesnt indicate a great interest from the inhabitants but the total population of Belgium is only 11 million. The rise in interest from the public has meant there has become more interest from the media. At the start of the 97-98 season new contracts were made worth13 millionwhich has also been a driving factor in financial growth. In 2002 new contracts were drawn up with three interested parties, VTM Andre Iguodala Jersey , RTBF and Canal. This meant that the amount of money awarded to clubs for TV rights would increase by 2 million to15 million which is an increase of times the amount teams were given in the 89-90 season (then3 million).The Youth SystemNaturally, with the increase in finances the clubs are able to build better squads by acquiring better players, upgrading the facilities and hiring new staff. Currently all of the Belgian National Squad were trained as youth players within Belgium, which rarely occurs in other small countries; the large teams of England, Spain and Italy come knocking and whisk away the young players for their own uses. Germinal Beerschot, Anderlecht and Standard Liege are the predominant producers of national players; of the current 25 member squad, over half (13) of the players began at one of these three teams.Standard Liege, Belgiums fourth mostsucce sfulteam in terms of league titles (10), have invested heavily in youth, and in 2007 it built a new academy; the Academie Robert Louis Dreyfus. It cost18 million and features five full size football pitches, a synthetic pitch, an indoor heated playing surface, a state of the art gym, adormitory, a 30 room hotel and an 800 seater stadium which is in regular use.The director of this academy is Michel Bruyninckx. Bruyninckx is a firm believer that the game is played with the brain and not the body. He holds a strong belief that neuroscience is the way forward in football and the training of young athletes. In England, players are judged by the time they reach 18; when their body has almost completed the growth proce s, Bruyninckx suggests that the brain isnt fully developed until 25 and so Precious Achiuwa Jersey young players still have a long way to go. Bruyninckxs methods clearly have substance and work to some degree as approximately 25% of all young members of the academy make it into profe sional football. Notable players that Bruyninckx has coached include Dries Mertens (now of PSV) and Steven Defour (now at Porto) whilst the Liege academy has produced players such as Marouanne Fellaini (Everton), Axel Witsel (Benfica) and Kevin Mirallas (Olympiakos).The ImportsPlaying in Europe is the dream for many players around the world, but it is very hard to just jump in at the highest level. Players need stepping stone clubs and leagues, and this is what the Belgian league is seen as. Players from Africa arrive in large numbers to play and show what they can do and then get picked up by other teams in bigger leagues. Chieck Tiote (Newcastle), Gervinho (Arsenal), Mido (Zamalek, once of Ajax), Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray) andDieumerci Mbokani (Anderlecht, formerly Wolfsburg) are just some of the bigger names in recent years to have migrated to Belgium for this purpose.The table below shows the amount of imports and foreign players in the Jupiler league until 2005 and shows a large rise in the percentage of foreign players.This high migration pattern and overall talent that the Belgian League can produce has prompted larger teams to create links with Belgian clubs; Arsenal had a link with Beveren until 2006, Manchester United with Royal Antwerp and Chelsea currently have a link with KVC Westerloo. These links allow Shaquille O'Neal Jersey both clubs to loan players from each other, but are also in place because Belgium has more relaxed laws regarding work permits so it is easier for non EU players to gain the right to work within Europe.ExportsAlthough the Belgian national team might be under performing (currently 44th in the world) the players in the squad are worthy of a higher position. The last impre sive ranking that Belgium held was in 2004, when it reached the height of 16th place. Currently it has one of the best defenders in world (Vincent Kompany), one of the most wanted young players in Europe (Eden Hazard), as well new Chelsea signings Romelu Lukaku and Thibault Courtois who have plenty of potential