Chris Casper
Salford City is proud to announce that our Academy has successfully been awarded Category 3 status!
After a long application process involving various audits and lots of effort from the Academy staff, we can now operate teams from Under-9s through to Under-18s.
All of these age groups will have a training programme that runs during the week, with development games played regularly on a Sunday.
Since we started the Academy in 2017 for Under-17s and Under-18s on a two-year scholarship, we have seen 18 players make a men’s team appearance for Salford in a cup competition.
Six of those have also made a league appearance for Salford including Alex Doyle and Kelly Nmai in the EFL, while Douglas James-Taylor has also made his EFL debut at another club.
Director of Football Development, Chris Casper, commented: “This is fantastic news that the Academy has been awarded Category 3 status, and firstly congratulations go to all of the staff who have put so much time and effort into the process.
“We have had some success already with the Academy in terms of players progressing into senior football whether at Salford or elsewhere, and we hope to make that a more regular achievement.
“Growing the Academy down to Under-9s will allow us to instil the Club’s philosophy into players at a younger age, providing them with top class coaching and cultivating a team spirit from a young age that we hope will grow as players and teams progress through the age groups.
“That longevity served us well when we were young and coming through the Manchester United academy, and from day one it has always been the ambition to give young players in the Salford and nearby areas a pathway to senior football.”
Head of Academy Coaching, Luke Morgan, added: “It’s great news for the Club that we’ve earned Category 3 status. It’s something that we’ve been after for a while to help achieve our aim of developing players to represent their hometown team, and all of the staff will be working hard to try and make that a reality.”
