Youth Development
Strategy
Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP)
Quality Assurance and Club Support
Games Programme
Coaching
Education
Elite Performance
Strategy
The Premier League works closely with our clubs to ensure there is a wealth of homegrown talent available for them and the national team equipped to thrive on the biggest stage. This is through delivering a world-class youth development system with leading coaches.
Elite Player Performance Plan
Introduced by the Premier League in 2012, the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) is a long-term strategy with the aim of developing more and better home-grown players for the benefit of our clubs, through the creation of the world’s leading Academy system.
The plan promotes the empowerment of each individual player through a player-centred approach, therefore developing players who are technically excellent, tactically astute, independent decision-makers, and physically, mentally and emotionally resilient.
The EPPP works across three phases: Foundation (Under-9 to Under-11), Youth Development (U12 to U16) and Professional Development (U17 to U23).
There are four categories of Academy, with minimum requirements and standards for each tier assessed on annual basis via the Premier League and an Independent Standards Organisation (ISO), the Professional Game Academy Audit Company (PGAAC).
The Premier League Football Department work for, with and on behalf of our clubs to deliver a world-class youth development system via the delivery of five key functions.
Quality Assurance and Club Support
Via specialist staff, we support clubs to promote good practice in all aspects of player development and to ensure their compliance with the Premier League Youth Development Rules. Our aim is to ensure all clubs provide safe, inclusive learning environments that put player care and the adoption of a holistic approach at the heart of everything they do.
In June 2019, the Premier League, EFL and The FA moved to establish the PGAAC, with the remit of providing independent quality-assurance audits of Club Academies. The PGAAC aims to regulate and stimulate the Academy system via the adoption of a three-tiered assessment model, delivered by domain-specific auditors;
- Safe to Operate – ensuring all Duty of Care and Safeguarding rules are applied and Academies operate safely.
- Compliance – ensuring clubs are required to demonstrate compliance with the Premier League Youth Development Rules.
- Standards – assessing the quality and impact of Leadership & Management, Coaching, Performance Support, and Education and Player Care.
Games Programme
In 2018/19, the Premier League organised over 10,000 and 212 festivals and tournaments for club Academy teams.
During the Foundation Phase (U9 to U11) the focus is very much on enhancing Academy players’ love of the game and mastery of the ball, through small-sided football and age-appropriate coaching. At this phase players have access to mostly regional fixtures, with participation in some national festivals and tournaments.
The Youth Development Phase (U12 to U16) combines elite competition, international experiences, tournaments and festivals in a wide range of formats to develop game understanding and to give opportunities to players to extend and consolidate their learning.
The Professional Development Phase (U17 to U23) bridges the gap from youth to senior football, introducing season-long competition (Under-18 Premier League and Premier League 2) between elite Academy sides from England and against teams further afield (the Premier League International Cup), in addition to participation in the EFL Trophy for Premier League Category 1 Academies.
Coaching and workforce development
Developing a world-leading youth development workforce is a key part of the EPPP, which the Premier League implements via a range of learning and development programmes for Academy managers, heads of coaching, coaches and support staff, which includes;
- Elite Academy Managers Development Programme (EAM) – an individualised programme of bespoke development for each Academy manager, with the aim of better equipping them to carry out their role effectively
- Elite Heads of Coaching (EHOC) – provides funding for the appointment of a full-time dedicated head of coaching within each Academy, with the remit to develop the academy coaches employed by their club. A four-year programme of development is provided to support personnel in what is a relatively new role within sport.
- Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme (ECAS) - an intense two-year programme to accelerate the development of academy coaches currently employed by clubs. From 2015/16, ECAS has started and continues to include six black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and female coaches per intake as part of the League’s commitment to equality and diversity.
Education and Player Care
Our Education and Player Care teams work to ensure players are provided with a world-class education programme.
The Premier League aims to provide world-class education to Academy players via inspirational and innovative teaching, which develops educationally rounded people through the delivery of a holistic approach.
The Premier League has its own Player Care team who deliver a life skills and personal development programme for Academy players.
The Premier League’s Education team is also responsible for the formal education programmes for all apprentices aged 16-19 who have signed a full-time Scholarship Agreement at a PL club.
Elite Performance
Our Elite Performance team support club Academy staff across the performance support areas such as; sports science and medicine, medical, strength and conditioning, psychology, talent ID and recruitment, psychology, and nutrition.
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