Before You Enrol Into Any Football Academy - Check Out These 10 Important Factors

Before You Enrol Into Any Football Academy, 10 Important factors You Should Consider

This post is meant for parents, guardians and upcoming players seeking to know how to kick start a football career for their child or for themself, as the case maybe.

I get some of these frequently asked questions: "What will I be looking at when choosing a football academy for my child? Or "Can you ecommend for me some of the best football academies in Nigeria?

My question to you is:  when choosing a school for your child, what are the factors you are going to consider? Well, in case you are not seeing it that way, a football academy is actually a football school. It is yet another place of training for your child. And be rest assured, your child would pick up habits beyond just playing football.

For me, here are ten factors I feel are so important when you are considering choosing an academy for your child:

1. The Academy's Management Culture
Just like most schools, in the academy there are a lot of mixing up of persons from different background and that could prove incongruous... a place to pick up bad hibits, if the academy doesn't have...not just a rich football culture, but a disciplinary culture. Definitely, the academy management culture will surely rub-off on the players. I personally feel the academy's disciplinary culture should be the first thing any caring parents should consider.

Ask questions about the academy camp rules and how they are implemented...their disciplinary actions for disobedient and stuborn characters in the academy~

The right academy is the one that take time to give orientation to incoming student players, delibrately organizing pep-talks, moral instruction classes and seminars to help tge players imbibe the right behaviours and the right culture. Clear camp rules and regulations that are enforced to the later is so important.

2. Qualified Coaching staff
The qualifications of the coaching staff of the academy is another important factor you should consider. How qualified are the coaches: Do they have a UEFA or CAF grade A license. And are they qualified as youth coaches with the requsite skills to train young players. This is because a coach can not give what he or she doesn't have. And there are lot of sub- standard academies that operate with unqualified  or lower graded coaching staff. Parent should insist on this factor; if possible see the certificates of some of the coaching staff, especially that of the chief coach.

3. Training Curriculum and Methodology
I know most parents or even young players may not know this, but there are standard football curriculum and methodologies applied in grooming youth players to help them develop special skills, techinical skills and game intelligence.

Find out what curriculum or method the academy is using: Soccer Bible, Association Football for youth development or Total Soccer Method (TSM)..
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4. Facilities and Training Equipment
Check out the pitches where the academy trains. Are they training in standard size pitches...well grassed or artificial pitch... It is good though to expose the players in various kind of pitches so they don't flutter at anytime.

Find out if the academy have enough balls... at least one for each player. Then, cones, dummies, hurdles... Also find out if each player have all the training kits, beebs so they do not have to share cloths during trainings.

5. First aid and Emergency Facilities
Football  require physical contact and very strenuous games, so emergencies do happen, injuries, cardiovascular complications... So a football academy should have not only a well equipped first aid box, but also a well trained nurse at their beckon.

A good academy should have a health insurance policy for all their staff and players in a close by hospital, in case of emergency both in the pitch or at the camp.

6. Participation in tournaments
Playing competitive games help the academy players develop faster. You have to find out how many tournaments the academy participate in yearly. Going for international tournaments expose the players to conditions they may face as professional football player abroad.

7. Participation in trial tours, scouting events...
Apart from playing in international tournaments, an academy that is able to go for trial tour abroad where the players can play in front of club management, scouts, agents...for possible recruitment is an added advantage.You can try to find out how many scouting event, trial camp and tours the academy participate in every year or so.

Most player graduate from academy not having opportunity to kick start their professional football career. An academy that provide such opportunity for trials is a huge reason to hold on to in making your decisions to join such academy.

8. Affiliation with a Pro clubs home or abroad
An academy that is affiliated to a pro-club, serving as a kind of feeder team to the pro-club makes it easy to send outstanding players from the academy to go for trials in their affiliate pro-club without much protocol. So you will do well to ask the academy if it has any affiliation with any top teams home or  abroad.

Some top teams such as FC Barcelona, PSG and Real Madrid already have their own academies in Nigeria too.

9. Price or cost/benefits implications
Do not just go for a cheap academy, sometimes these standards are what made the prices different. So make your inquiries properly and analyze the cost/ benefits of joining any academy.

However, there are also very good academies that are also very affordable.

10. Location and hostel facilities:
Check out academies closer to you... that may make it a lot easier in terms of logistics, accommodation and feeding.  If you enrol your child in an academy closer to you, he or she may prefer to come from home thereby, still enjoying parental care and control.

Otherwise, check out the hostel accommodation...hygiene, alternative power supply, clean water, clean toilets... before you make your decision in enrolling your child there

I hope this article answers the question on how you can choose the right football academy for your child. But in case you still need clarifications, recommendations or help, please call or WhatsApp: +234(0)809 877 2556. Otherwise, email: gh.sports1@gmail.com or use the contact form at bottom of the blog