Swansea City launch Pre-academy Regional Centre Programme
Swansea City has launched its new Pre-Academy Regional Centre Programme, which is set to provide talented young footballers across south Wales with the opportunity to develop their skills in a professional environment.
This exciting initiative, for boys aged six to eight, will see the opening of four regional centres, strategically located in Swansea, Carmarthen, Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), and Cardiff.
Each centre will look to host 16 to 18 players per age group, with the initiative prioritising smaller, more focused groups to maximise individual player development and attention.
The centres have been launched in order to help the club to continue to identify, nurture and develop young football talent within local regions, and provide a high-quality training programme which is aligned with the club's overarching philosophies on and off the field.
Our coaches and staff will strive to instil the club's core values into our young players, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary fundamental skills and mindset to progress through our player development pathway, with the goal of ultimately producing well-rounded individuals and elite footballers capable of contributing to Swansea City.
Programme structure
Scouting and talent identification: The club’s scouting team will be regularly attending local grassroots matches and tournaments across south Wales to identify players with the potential to join the pre-academy regional centres.
Players demonstrating exceptional potential may be invited to join the pre-academy, whereby players can progress through the ranks and sign for Swansea City’s academy.
Weekly training sessions: The centres will host free weekly sessions throughout the season. Coaches will deliver a high-quality training programme, in line with the Pre-Academy/Academy Curriculum.
Games programme: Regional centres will have regular fixtures against Swansea City's pre-academy squads. Throughout the season, the best performing players from each regional centre will be selected to play against the pre-Academy Squads as well as Football Association of Wales (FAW) Academy Teams. This will provide young players with competitive match experience.
Head of scouting and head of recruitment as Swansea City academy Paul Robinson and Paul Compton:
"The purpose of the restructure of the pre-academy programme was down to the vast number of players that were already here when myself and (head of scouting) Paul Robinson started in our roles at the club," said academy head of recruitment Paul Compton.
"Pre-academy football is so important in any football environment, it’s the start of the young players' journey and it needs to be correct in how it is run.
"With so many young players starting around the age of six, it gives us the opportunity to give Swansea players the chance to play for their local professional club.
"The pre-academy regional centres are now working to a proven structure with lead coach James Hughes looking after the coaching, and Paul Robinson organising our scouts in order to try and find the next Joe Allen.
"It is also an opportunity for coaches as this could be the start of a coach’s journey in academy football, as the coaching syllabus is the same as in the academy coaching program.
"As a club we have always been proud of the number of academy products who have gone on to represent the senior side, and we hope this programme will help us continue to do so."
Academy manager Gavin Levey welcomes the restructure, and is looking forward to discovering new, local talent.
"The pre-academy regional centres are essential in providing talented local young footballers with the opportunity to be developed through a specific coaching curriculum to complement their footballing experience alongside their grassroots clubs, said Levey.
"We have streamlined our whole pre-academy programme to identify and help nurture the very best potential in south Wales.
"We are extremely excited about giving the youngsters a professional approach to their individual development with the chance of being integrated into the Swansea City academy."