Development centre will be for younger players
Younger players are being invited to trials at the club. Picture: Brentford FC
March 3, 2023
Brentford FC are to open a new Development Centre this month as the first stage in a plan to relaunch its Academy. The facility, which will be for players aged 9 to 16, forms an important part of the club’s push to participate in European competitions.
Having secured its place in the Premier League, the club is looking to compete against top sides from the continent. The Bees are currently 9th in the table with the top seven clubs likely to be playing in UEFA competitions next season.
There has been a change in Premier League rules which means that, by the start of the 2024/25 season, all Premier League clubs must have an Academy at Category Three level or higher. The opening of a Category Four Academy is a step towards eventually complying with the new regulations. It is also necessary to have an Academy in order to gain a licence to compete in UEFA competitions.
The new Development Centre will transition into an Academy from Spring 2024. The aim is to provide the foundations for an environment that will provide young players the opportunity to develop holistically, excel in elite football, and benefit from a range of educational opportunities.
The club had scrapped its academy in 2016 focusing on a highly successful strategy of identifying under-priced talent from lower leagues and overseas, but UEFA rules require teams entering its competitions to have a structure in place to develop younger players. The club’s director of football has also stated that Brexit has made it more difficult to recruit foreign players.
Brentford also formed an under-18 team earlier this season which entered the FA Youth Cup.
Trials for the Development Centre will be obtained through an invite-only process. Click here to register your interest in one of the trial sessions.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
