Crunch time for academy kids facing the trickiest time of year

Young footballers have a lot to deal with and big decisions to make as clubs aim to sign up only the most talented

- Ed Aarons

Any 15or 16-year-olds who should be revising for their mock GCSEs are probably finding that the end of December is a testing time of year.

For those in academy football, it can often be make or break. While the very best - such as Arsenal’s record-breaking Max Dowman, who agreed terms on a scholarship deal in October - secured their futures in good time, many discovered their fates just before the 31 December deadline.

“It’s always the sort of classic breakup. It’s not you, it’s us,” says Dr Chris Platts, who has studied the academy system for more than a decade and offers support to players and families. “Being released before Christmas isn’t nice. Then they’ve about five months before their GCSEs and those months are going to include a lot of trials and uncertainty.”

While about 50% of players will have left academies by the time they turn 16, clubs are typically given funding from the Department for Education to cover eight scholarships every year. But with competition for young players having become fiercer than ever given the restrictions placed on clubs by Brexit that exclude them from signing players from Europe until they are 18, there is usually a scramble for those who do not quite make the grade in the elite category one academies.