To update on this.
I met Alan Nevison (Academy Manager) yesterday at the training ground.
Alan is a great guy with an enormous passion for Bradford City. His enthusiasm rubs off on you when he speaks.
He was coaching the Academy kids at Manchester United but he's a City fan. His dad was in the player's lounge and he was sitting in the stand on the day of the fire. As he told me, "I'm here because City's part of my blood."
Here's a rundown of our Academy:
The aim is to develop players who progress into the first team. Alan identified several real talents that he felt had everything they need to make it.
- Academy's are rated from Cat 1 to Cat 4.
- Most Premier clubs and some Championships are Cat 1
- The main difference relates to the number of coaches. A Cat 1 will have over 50 full-time coaches. A massive cost
- If you have a Cat 1, you have more funding from Premier League from their 'Solidarity Payments' - but you have to contribute more as a club on a pro-rata basis. We could never contemplate this because, beyond the coaches, you need facilities like more 4G pitches etc. which cost £400k!
- The 'Solidarity Payments' stem from a deal done by the Premier League to guarantee more Academy funding at a price... Set payments were put in place to allow bigger clubs to poach young talent for modest sums. This makes it harder to get the sort of deals we've had previously for the likes of Fabian Delph and Andre Wisdom for example
- To put this into context, Huddersfield has moved to Cat 4 and now they only coach from under 16's up because they don't see any benefit in coaching kids 8-16.
- City are Cat 3. We coach from under 8's to under 18's with 13 coaches across the age groups
- Our Academy has 150 kids. Kids who are good are moved up age groups
- They are accessed on talent and body development. You may have a 12-year-old who is a late developer in body size and one who is 5 inches taller who is ahead in body, but not chronologically. When they get to 17/18 it will equal out and they consider all of this when looking at talent and putting them into aged teams
- Beneath this, we have 4 Elite Development Centres (DC's) at Southfield Grange, Ilkley, Dewsbury and in Seacroft
- There are 350 kids in the DC's. They all train and wear the City kit.
- These have a DC coordinator and more local coaches running them
- The aim of these is to create links with local schools and clubs to provide a channel to the Development Centres
- We have 8 scouts watching schools and local clubs. They will have the watched Alpha United FC players playing for the club and in their school's teams many times
- Players who are identified as having potential are picked up by scouts and recommended to either the Development Centres or the Academy
- Each year, they hold DC Select days to trial DC players and other local talents to bring into the Academy
- The Academy brings in players from beyond Bradford. There is a lad who lives in Leeds who gets the train and was a Leeds fan. Alan said he saw his dad down at Valley Parade sheepishly buying tickets for City.
- At 16 players are offered BTEC in Sports Science courses. This is where our links to the School become a big draw, even against top tier clubs.
- The BTEC is equivalent to 3 A-Levels - For the majority of players who don't make the grade they have a pathway to University with many getting unconditional offers on sporting degrees due to the course and links to football
- We also house out of area talent in the school 6th form boarding residency.
- To put this into context, the fees to attend and board at a school like Woodhouse Grove are considerable. It's a magnificent school with beautiful grounds and brilliant facilities. Many parents are amazed at the opportunity this offers for their kids
- From there, at 18 the best kids are offered their first pro contract, or released
There are also players that are watched by other clubs who will move on. He said one boy will have been watched 20 times by scouts by one club before an offer will come in. These deals are done regularly but go unreported (they are minors). Because of the solidarity deal, clubs are powerless to stop players moving. Each kid can only be signed from year to year.
When interest comes in from more than one club, our job is to try and create a dutch auction to broker a deal beyond the prescribed minimums to include sell on's and appearance deals etc.
I spent 3 hours with Alan exploring ways to increase funding and to extend the reach of the DC's. In simple terms, the wider the reach, the more likely we are to find more talent which will, in turn, help us on the pitch.
Thanks.
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QCFC BANTAM Regular StarterQatar 2022 Entrant P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter
In terms of BCFC and scouting, over the last few years they have increased the number of scouts and they are active around the junior clubs. Craig has been up to Queensbury a few times to look at our U6s and several of our kids go down to the development centres and a couple to the academy. I have referred a couple of players to him and am about to refer a couple more this week.
The Academy put on an open session down at Apperley Bridge about 18 months ago and all FA affiliated junior clubs could attend. They gave a display of an Academy coaching session followed by a session with Alan Nevison Academy Manager. Basically they said that they didn't have the numbers of scouts to compare with Man City, Blackburn, Burnley etc and were asking for clubs to refer player's to them so they could attend a development centre or they could be watched by a scout. Hence I refer player's - it's one thing that I joke about with the kids that I only want to see City shirts at my sessions!!
Over the last 18 months they have also increased the number of development centres that they run. It used to be just down at Woodhouse Grove but this is now the Elite/Academy centre but there are Development centres in Dewsbury, Ilkley, Seacroft and at Southfield Grange thus increasing the number of kids they get to look at.
From speaking to Craig they are aware of all the big local junior clubs and especially those that have kids at 5 and 6 as other clubs do come and look at them.
Hope this helps, QCFC.Botswana Bantam, marshy77, Pineapple Salesman and 5 others like this. -
Old Grey Fox, Botswana Bantam, Pineapple Salesman and 4 others like this.
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I am fully aware of the incredible work that the Community Foundation does, but I have no knowledge of the links or pathways between grassroots clubs and the Bradford City Academy.
I am meeting the Head of the Academy late next week and once I've got a better understanding, I'll respond to the specifics of your post.
Thanks,
GlennJay, bantamdave41, Briggus and 3 others like this. -
The club is an open book on things like this. As you'll know from a thread on here, Ryan Sparks meets the various fan media outlets such as Bantam Talk, Width of a Post etc. These forums/blogs are more than welcome to publish this information or indeed request an introduction to Alan Nevison via Ryan. Media / PR is his domain.BoingBoing, Botswana Bantam, RonnieBrown and 1 other person like this. -
Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...BoingBoing, Onside, Botswana Bantam and 1 other person like this. -
QCFC BANTAM Regular StarterQatar 2022 Entrant P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter
Clubs don't care about the kids that they deem not good enough. A lad who played with my eldest up until 9 and had good friends at the club signed for BCFC and so could only play for BCFC. They dropped him at 15 and he no longer had the friends he once had and stopped playing altogether.Botswana Bantam, Dennis and Onside like this. -
Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...marshy77 and Botswana Bantam like this. -
QCFC BANTAM Regular StarterQatar 2022 Entrant P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter
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tks so much for your update and info supplied.
Am looking forward to more info from the Academy as and when you have any more details.
Have been delighted with the info supplied by you and QCFC and Simon the admin chap.
QCFC obviously puts huge efforts into his club and I thank him sincerely for such.
I am really keen to hear that the BCFC activity in junior football is really as comprehensive in its coverage
of all communities within the city as I believe it need to be. It is my opinion that we are weak in overall
effectiveness as I have been a season ticket holder for nearly 30 years and cannot recall if we have had a
single player from the Asian community break through into the senior age groups and into the
footballing staff at VP.Bronco and QCFC BANTAM like this. -
A lot of these independent junior clubs around the country don't wish to have tight links to a specific club in the region. If anything they are often more likely to have some form of link with a European club where the players may go for a training camp once a year. Their independence in the region is something they feel is important in the development of players. Most of clubs in the catchment area though will throw donations their way and do often send coaches to help out for a day or so here and there and may let them use their facilities from time to time. So I would imagine it would be the same with this club, City, Leeds etc most likely all drop some cash their way and occasionally share resources
Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...Jay likes this. -
Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...Jay likes this.
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If anything Football, in general, is a bit guilty of throwing kids on the trash heap way too soon. If they haven't been signed by a top team by the time you are 13 they are written off, if they do sign with a top team by then but don't get offered academy papers at 16 or a senior contract by 18 you are also often written off. More support from everyone in football needs given to these groups that give those who are written off a home and a path to still make their dream come true. This support can simply be as fans being in favour of such groups or through clubs, players, coaches, FA's and the likes providing more infrastrcture and money to themStop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...QCFC BANTAM likes this. -
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Stafford Bantam CaptainModerator P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter P.L. 20/21 Top 30Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...Botswana Bantam likes this.
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Brilliant response and information. Thankyou.
Just wondering if this information could be published to the world at large by some means or other (Club programme/Simon Parker article? etc.) so that those out there who are always saying City are doing nowt to encourage local talent can have their wings clipped?Botswana Bantam likes this. -
Stafford Bantam CaptainModerator P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter P.L. 20/21 Top 30
@Glenn Ackroyd Given how informative this is, and so it doesn't get lost in the middle of this thread, I have copied it across to a new thread titled 'Bradford City Academy & Youth Development'
Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...Bronco likes this. -
Stafford Bantam CaptainModerator P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter P.L. 20/21 Top 30
As the original question has been more than fully answered, and given that I have started a new thread with @Glenn Ackroyd 's detailed response at the top, I will lock this thread now.
Any further responses can be made in the new thread.Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...BoingBoing likes this.
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