ForeFront Football helps clubs, coaches, and players improve their performance by adapting FC Barcelona’s methodology and the “Location Game” to each project’s unique context and needs, while maintaining a science-backed approach to modern football training, emotional intelligence, and decision-making.
ForeFront Football: The Future of Coaching and Player Development
In an era when football is more data-driven than ever, ForeFront Football is taking a different route, one that blends science, methodology, and emotion to develop football clubs’ structures, smarter players and transformational coaches.
Founded in 2022 by Marc Quintana and Xavier Damunt, two former leaders from FC Barcelona’s La Masia, ForeFront brings over a decade of elite-level experience to clubs and coaches worldwide. Their mission: to help football institutions build a strong, adaptable game identity that endures beyond any one manager or generation.
At the core of their philosophy lies the “Location Game,” a modern evolution of Barça’s legendary Position Game. It’s a dynamic, ball-oriented system designed to keep players connected, enhance decision-making, and maintain collective control. Built on the principles of Complex Systems Theory and Neuroscience, this method nurtures adaptive intelligence, players learn to read the game, manage emotions, and make better decisions under pressure.
From the philosophy of Cruyff and Guardiola to modern neuroscience, ForeFront Football is turning knowledge into a new kind of performance, one where the beautiful game becomes even smarter.
Unlike traditional football consultancies, ForeFront works holistically, aligning every department, from scouting to sports science, around a shared philosophy. When advising clubs, the company’s approach ensures that knowledge and identity remain part of the club’s DNA.
Through their ForeFront Method Development Program, coaches gain access to the same methodology that powered La Masia’s success, complete with video analysis, interactive lessons, and practical tools to apply on the pitch.
Looking to the future, ForeFront predicts that personal tactical analysts will soon become as vital to elite players as fitness trainers or sports psychologists. The company’s guiding idea is simple but revolutionary: emotions, intelligence, and methodology must coexist for football to truly evolve.
The company’s guiding idea is simple but revolutionary: emotions, intelligence, and methodology must coexist for football to truly evolve.
From the philosophy of Cruyff and Guardiola to modern neuroscience, ForeFront Football is turning knowledge into a new kind of performance, one where the beautiful game becomes even smarter.
Click here to learn more about about ForeFront Football.
Our exclusive interview with ForeFront Football
How did ForeFront Football begin? Who are the founders? What is the core mission of ForeFront Football today?
ForeFront Football was founded by Marc Quintana and Xavier Damunt in 2022, after meeting and working together for more than 10 years at FC Barcelona. With all the knowledge acquired and developed during this time, especially in the methodology department leading La Masia, with Paco Seirul·lo and Isaac Guerrero at the helm, we decided to put it at the service of other Clubs and coaches who are interested in this game idea and training method.
What differentiates ForeFront Football from other football/coach development consultancies?
The main difference is our way of understanding the methodology. It is often associated with the methodology department as those who designate, in the club, a way to play and train. This being true, we believe that the work of this department goes much further. It is also necessary to create a structure that allows the game idea to be developed and enhanced. And this happens mainly to align all the departments of the club in such a way that they understand that, although they may have their own objectives, they must also assume those related to their contribution to realize the idea of the game. The performance department, the scouting department, the medical department, the data science department or the communication department, to name a few examples, must align with a certain way of training and playing. This means that it is necessary to agree with the scouting department which player profiles are most interesting, which physical parameters the performance department should particularly monitor, or which game data we are interested in analyzing.
The methodology department must also be responsible for making this game idea more resilient, so that players and coaches can pass through the Club, but the idea must remain. Therefore, we are the ones who ensure the line to follow in the middle term, something important in the immediacy of the result in the match. This is interesting in the Clubs we advise, because the company ensures that it maintains the same philosophy, even though it may change the technical director or the coaches.
Another important point is to maintain and give value to the guiding framework of the club, which must be the game idea. It is important that, in order for the maximum number of players to reach the first team, or at least to other professional clubs (with the financial benefit that comes with it), that the players in all categories have the same game idea. This does not mean that all coaches do the same tasks and play exactly the same, this would not be functional or good for the development of the players. We mean that the coaches give value to certain intentions, that is to say, that they promote shared affordances, which support the game idea. This respects the particularities of each coach, which give richness and experience to the players, as well as the different abilities of each player, given that the set of intentions that shape the game idea can be carried out in multiple ways. In this way, we move away from more rigid game models, which are not flexible enough to foster the improvement of players’ decision-making, nor to adapt to the specific needs of each match in order to win it.
The methodology department must also be responsible for making this game idea more resilient, so that players and coaches can pass through the Club, but the idea must remain.
All this is achieved with a good welcome to the new professionals who enter the club, a training plan in this game idea or the new coaches, by making flow and ensuring the traceability of the information that the coach possesses, and with the management of the knowledge so that it remains in the entity; so it is not affected by when a coach leaves the club.
A key example of this is the generation of potential profiles: we analyze the most talented players in the club to find out their strengths and what they need to optimize, to generate a training action plan. The methodology department accompanies throughout the process, but both the analysis and the implementation of the plan are carried out by the coach. But this support ensures that the plan has consistency over the years, in addition to extracting the information from the coach and keeping it within the organization.
All of this makes no sense if, in the club where the game idea is implemented, the club’s own idiosyncrasy, philosophy, and values are not respected — understood as those of its supporters, players, directors, and the social environment around it. Therefore, it is not simply that the game idea must adapt to the reality of where it is applied; rather, because it is a flexible idea and not a rigid game model, these values will inevitably shape the club’s game idea. At the same time, this ensures that it can be implemented successfully in clubs all around the world.
You emphasize the “Location Game” as central to your game idea. Can you explain what it is, and why you believe it works?
The Location Game is known as the evolution of the Position Game. It is the game idea developed at FC Barcelona, especially from Guardiola’s time with the first team.
The Location Game is known as the evolution of the Position Game. It is the game idea developed at FC Barcelona, especially from Guardiola’s time with the first team. It is an associative and proactive style of play that organizes players around the ball, maintaining short relational distances across two contour lines. This organization on the field is optimal for carrying out, at all times, the two fundamental intentions: to maintain possession and to disorganize the opponent. When the team does not have the ball, the goal is to recover it as quickly as possible, and the organization around the ball allows for this to happen effectively.
Because the main organizational reference is the ball itself—as the team structures itself based on where the ball is, which is constantly moving—the game becomes less positional and much more dynamic and relational. From this short-distance organization emerges a multidirectional style of play that enables control over both the ball and the tempo of the match. Players have multiple passing options because they are all relatively close to one another and positioned on two levels or height lines, thus constantly forming dynamic associative triangles.
The genesis of this, as we have said, is FC Barcelona, but we have taken care to be able to understand this idea from a scientific perspective, basing ourselves above all on the Complex Systems Approach, understanding the team as a dynamic and adaptive complex system, in relation to its context. We also consider motor Praxeology important to optimize motor communication between players, which is basic in this sport, and more so if you play in short contact distances. Based on what science tells us, we can better understand our game idea and understand why it is functional. And, above all, it allows us to know what the key points are to implement it in any team. As you can see, this proactive and associative game idea is no longer the unique heritage of FC Barcelona, and we can assure you that it can be implemented in any club.
There is another important aspect: since it is an associative game idea, it keeps players in constant contact with the ball and allows them to make continuous decisions during training. This provides an ideal framework for player development in the formative stages.
In your “pedagogical exchange” approach, how do you see the role of the coach changing (from transactional to transformational leadership)?
The pedagogical exchange, understood as everything the coach does to optimize the player’s development, is closely connected to the game idea. It’s obvious: we train the way we want to play. Therefore, within task design, there are various rondos, position games, and situation games. However, the coach’s role goes far beyond that.
Pedagogy and neuroscience show us that some ways are better than others when it comes to promoting motor learning in players. Coaches must act in ways that support this natural learning process; which, from a complex systems perspective, is the player’s ability to adapt to the context through the multiple possibilities for action available to them.
We understand this as being closely related to transformational leadership, which helps players develop by designing game contexts where they can explore solutions, by engaging with them to understand what they think and why they act in a certain way on the field, and by helping them find their own responses based on what happens in play.
Transactional leadership, on the other hand, does not aim for this. It focuses on explaining how things should be done based on an ideal game model or a motor pattern, paying little attention to the player’s individuality or to the real situation. Likewise, training design under this approach seeks to achieve predefined objectives set by the coach.
We avoid seeing this as black or white, but we believe that in formative stages, transformational leadership is essential, whereas in performance teams, a transactional style may sometimes be necessary due to the demand for immediacy. However, even then, it should maintain a transformational vision that allows players to internalize and evolve the game idea over time. Success in football does not come from reaching a theoretically perfect state of play, but from developing a functional game that evolves continuously. The moment you fixate on one specific way of playing, the opponent can identify and counter it. The way to reach and stay at the top is, paradoxically, to promote change while remaining within the basic principles and intentions of your game idea.
You mention “emotions and decision making” in players. How do you practically integrate that in training (vs. purely technical/tactical work)?
The question we should ask ourselves is why, traditionally and even today, emotions have often been overlooked, when they are an inherent part of the player and, as neuroscience shows us, essential for decision-making.
We propose training players naturally, which means taking their emotions into account. They are not machines or pawns that the coach moves around the field. Players make decisions on the field, and these decisions are partly influenced by their emotional state. Emotional management is crucial. A transformational leader, using the pedagogical tools provided by our training, can create game contexts where players are able to make decisions, regulate their emotions, and together extract conclusions and receive feedback to optimize the process. Optimizing this is inseparable from optimizing both the game and the player.
Not only that. The brain’s mechanism for unconscious decision-making uses the emotions generated by the perception of the context and the player’s own bodily state. Decision-making is emotional. Therefore, our approach goes beyond simply respecting and including emotions in training. This has implications for how training sessions are designed and which emotions players are expected to experience in game contexts, guiding them toward specific decisions.
For example, we propose conducting training with an emotive-volitional preference, following the line of Preferential Simulation Situations and Paco Seirul·lo’s player structures. This means training game contexts with a focus on emotional and motivational aspects.
Can you walk us through a typical “coach consultancy” engagement? What are the steps, tools, deliverables?
We adapt to the needs of the coaches. Basically, there are two groups of needs. The first group includes coaches who want to deepen their understanding of the training method and the game idea we propose, and then they adapt it to the reality of their own team.
The second group consists of those who also want us to analyze their matches and/or training sessions to monitor the implementation of the method. Often, coaches from the first group eventually move into the second. In some cases, we end up acting as analysts and advisors to the staff of that team.
How do you do the player consultancy?
To help professional players improve their performance, we start with an initial analysis of the player, primarily based on the intentions they express in their play. In this case, we focus on their individual intentions, even though these are likely related to collective intentions. We limit ourselves to the individual ones because our advisory work is directed at the player, and we do not want to interfere with the team’s coach’s work. What we do is provide the player with tools to respond effectively to the contexts they face during the match.
The next step is to agree on an action plan with the player. By combining our observations with the player’s self-awareness, we identify the intentions to optimize and enhance. It is important to understand that we optimize or enhance intentions that the player is already expressing and that align with the needs of the team. We can also propose introducing intentions that the player is not currently expressing in the action plan, provided the player agrees and they fall within the valid range of intentions for the type of game the team plays.
The player’s subsequent matches are analyzed, and video feedback is provided based on their performance in relation to the agreed action plan. The action plan is adjusted after certain matches depending on how the player’s performance develops.
Throughout the process, our approach to contextual decision-making with an emotional component remains central.
What is the “ForeFront Method Development Program”? What do coaches undergo, and what outcomes do you hope for?
All our services are related to club consultancy. When advising a coach, we provide access to the training method and the game idea that we have studied extensively over the years in FC Barcelona. Player consultancy involves adapting the potential profiles we developed for future La Masia stars.
The same applies to the development program. The courses are designed to be available to the coaches of the clubs we advise, but they are also open to any coach who wants to further their education.
These courses explain our method: the Location Game, how to train the Location Game, and how to optimize the player within this method. Within the courses, coaches find texts, match videos, interactive resources, and they can also complete activities that we use to provide feedback.
How do you measure progress and success (KPIs, metrics)?
In the case of clubs, we establish objectives at the start of the project. From these objectives, specific actions are defined, which can be measured using KPIs. We strive to make our work objective and transparent, which is why we measure the impact of the proposed actions and provide the club’s board with an application that shows the current status of the actions, the KPI values, and the acceptance criteria that have been determined. The KPI acceptance criteria are adjusted according to the club’s initial situation in relation to the goal to be achieved. This is another example of the necessary adaptation of the method to the reality of the club where it is implemented.
At the same time, all this information allows us to monitor the action plan and redefine it if necessary.
In the case of advising players and coaches, the action plan itself determines the current status of the project and which objectives need to be further pursued.
What do you see as the future of coach/player development over the next 5–10 years?
In the current context of data and information overload, the coach does not need more data but rather a synthesis of it; in other words, they need quality information. This analysis of data and gameplay can be carried out by the coaching staff themselves, or it can also be understood that part of this staff is ForeFront Football. As mentioned, coaches are increasingly accustomed to sharing and growing together, and it is not unusual to have external advisors and/or game analysts.
The same applies to high-level players. Many already have their personal strength and conditioning coach and trusted physiotherapist. Some have their own psychologist. They increasingly understand that they need to invest in themselves to remain competitive. A personal analyst, who helps the player make better decisions on the pitch and with whom they agree on improving certain individual intentions to practice during team training, is gradually finding a place within the professional player’s staff. We believe that in the coming years, this will become increasingly common.
What philosophical or theoretical influencers have shaped ForeFront’s approach (in football, education, psychology, leadership)?
We always want our actions to be explainable through science. During the time at FC Barcelona, we wanted to nurture people who would help us to be able to explain what we were already observing, rather than the traditional vision, expressed by decontextualized or defragmented models of play or training.
We have the influence of the complex systems group at the University of Barcelona, formed, among others, by Natàlia Balagué, Carlota Torrents, Ángel Ric or Rafel Pol, currently PSG’s assistant coach.
Thanks to coordinating the FC Barcelona Masters for a few years, conducting the Coach Academy at the Barça Innovation Hub, or organizing internal training for the Masia coaches, we were able to contact and share with other experts, of whom we highlight Duarte Araujo, or the neuroscientist David Bueno. We have also read a lot from the neuroscientist Antonio Damásio, with reference to emotions in decision-making, Pierre Parlebas and his motor praxiology, or Gabriele Wulf and Nick Leithwaite and their optimal theory.
In a more footballing field, we have the influence of Paco Seirul·lo and Isaac Guerrero, through whom we have been able to understand the evolution of this idea of play, from Johan Cruyff to Luis Enrique, via Guardiola.
