NPL Football Academy

Why choose the NPLFA?

Why is the NPL Football Academy programme unique?

The bespoke football aspect of the programme is unique to any other football & education programme in the country and a concept no other can provide.

We are the first dedicated football and education academy league linked to a major feeder league in the country, added to that it is the first football and education league to be sanctioned by the Football Association.

The Northern Premier League Football Academy is only similar to programmes that are in operation at colleges, trusts, independently run or at a local hub centre in the sense of the educational national BTEC sports course being delivered, but that is where the similarities ends.

The reason why this concept is vastly different and has caught the imagination of those involved in the professional and semi-professional game and one of the main differences with the NPL Football Academy, is that all the students will be representing their local non-league (semi-professional) football club in the academy league and national cups, in an organisation and management structure respected and known throughout football, the Northern Premier League (Evo-Stik League)

The concept is also different in many other ways a few to mention are:-

All of our coaches have to be at UEFA A or B status (or on obtaining the position be working towards the award) we also have coaches working at our clubs that are currently working in professional club academies and are fomer and current professional and semi-professional players.

In relation to squad numbers, group size will only be of 16-22 students who will work together consistently through coaching and education and together represent the football club on and off the pitch for that year intake only. Therefore a team will not be picked from a large group or hub of students differently each week.

Also as a sanctioned league 85%-90% of games are played at the main stadiums of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League clubs, as opposed to college/park pitches. The Evo-Stik NPL also ensure officials are all of the required standard.

Our growing reputation has also ensured our enrichment days for students are linked to many renowned football venues such as St George’s Park home of the Football Association and Premier League Clubs.

Training/Games

How often do the students train?

Students will train specifically three/four times a week usually in the afternoon after morning studies (each club timetable is different) and will be coached and managed by UEFA A & B qualified coaches who will develop the players technically during the programme through coaching and match play. There may be added training sessions with the coach subject to availability, also there may be opportunities to join in first team training sessions.

How often do the students play?

Students will play once a week, match days will be on Wednesday’s with the majority of games taking place in the afternoons however due to possible backlog of some fixtures due to weather etc there may be two games a week with some games possibly taking place in the evenings under floodlights to further enhance the students experience. A full live match day centre is in operation on the programmes social media sites on Wednesdays.

Competitions

What competitions will students play in?

As well as the NPL Football Academy League title to play for, they will also have opportunities to compete in the national FA Youth Cup and local County Competitions the club wish to enter.

There is also an opportunity to compete in the new 2016 Northern Premier League ‘Futsal’ and ‘Five-a-Side’ competitions.

Expectations

What can a student expect on the football side?

We will endeavour to ensure we work with students to provide an enrichment of football experiences throughout the year. From expert coaching through to the unique match day experience, we will treat the students with respect and look to provide a platform to allow them to receive the same football education programme as a professional football scholar would at a Football League/Premier League club and in return we will be requesting students to dedicate themselves to the programme.

IMPORTANT: In order to take part in the football programme students will be expected to be up to date in their education and have no outstanding assignments etc.

Pathways

By being a part of the Northern Premier League Football Academy and by already being involved in the club, students will have first chance opportunities to be able to progress into their clubs first team as a semi-professional footballer. First team coaching staff informed regularly of a students progression (often watching games) by the academy coach and inviting students to training sessions if progressing well.

Every season there are also opportunities to play in the newly formed ‘Inter League’ representative side where a nominated selected squad of players from all clubs in the league will compete against professional club academies in a series of games to showcase their talents.

Graduates

When a student make his semi-professional first team debut they are classed as a footballing graduate. Since 2014 we have had seven debutants make their bow with several others receiving call ups. In February 2015, we were proud to announce our first ever professional graduate when Yohan Rutty-Smith signed scholarship forms for Notts County.

The majority of these students have come from local junior football to semi-professional level in the space of a year which is down to the opportunities provided to them in the NPL Football Academy and also the standard of quality coaching they are receiving on a daily basis.

Professional Graduates

A professional graduate is a student who transfers to a professional football league club.

#	STUDENT	AGE	NPLFA CLUB	MOVED TO	DATE	PROFILE
#1	Yohan Rutty-Smith	16	Romulus	Notts County	February 2015	PROFILE
#2	Max Hunt	16	Matlock Town	Mansfield Town	July 2016	PROFILE

First Team Graduates

A first team graduate is a student who makes his semi-professional first team debut in a competitive game.

#	AGE	STUDENT	CLUB	OPPONENT	COMPETITION	DATE
#1	16	Yohan Rutty-Smith	Romulus	vs Sutton Coldfield Town	League Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 11th November 2014
#2	16	Dylan Shilcock	Leek Town	vs Sheffield	Evo-Stik NPL First Division South	Tuesday 24th March 2015
#3	16	Ben Oldroyd	Radcliffe Borough	vs Droylsden	Evo-Stik NPL First Division North	Saturday 25th April 2015
#4	17	Adam Henshall	Radcliffe Borough	vs Droylsden	Evo-Stik NPL First Division North	Saturday 25th April 2015
#5	16	Scott Taylor	Belper Town	vs Rugby Town	Evo-Stik NPL First Division South	Saturday 22nd August 2015
#6	16	Lewis Belgrave	Mickleover Sports	vs Darlington	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Saturday 10th October 2015
#7	17	Lewis Brown	Matlock Town	vs Stamford	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Saturday 27th February 2016
#8	17	Adam Leach	Radcliffe Borough	vs Prescot Cables	Evo-Stik NPL Division One North	Saturday 26th March 2016
#9	18	Sam Daniels	Radcliffe Borough	vs Droylsden	Evo-Stik NPL Division One North	Monday 28th March 2016
#10	18	Kieran Cronin	Mickleover Sports	vs Nantwich Town	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Saturday 2nd April 2016
#11	17	Jack Tolley	Mickleover Sports	vs Skelmersdale United	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Saturday 16th April 2016
#12	17	Tyron Buxton	Mickleover Sports	vs Stamford	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Saturday 23rd April 2016
#13	16	Reece Makelele	Radcliffe Borough	vs Farsley Celtic	FA Trophy Preliminary Round	Saturday 8th October 2016
#14	17	Ben Edgson	Matlock Town	vs Halesowen Town	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Tuesday 18th October 2016
#15	17	Jordan Pierrepont	Matlock Town	vs Bedworth United	Integro League Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 15th November 2016
#16	17	Jordan Lee	Matlock Town	vs Bedworth United	Integro League Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 15th November 2016
#17	16	Jake Dickinson	Mickleover Sports	vs Belper Town	Integro League Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 15th November 2016
#18	18	Jordan Gilhooly	Mickleover Sports	vs Borrowash Victoria	Derbyshire Senior Cup 3rd Round	Tuesday 6th December 2016
#19	16	Harry Wood	Matlock Town	vs Basford United	Integro League Cup 2nd Round	Tuesday 24th January 2017
#20	18	Euan Woods	Warrington Town	vs Tranmere Rovers	Cheshire Senior Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 24th January 2017
#21	17	Billy Silvester	Kidsgrove Athletic	vs Carlton Town	Evo-Stik Division One South	Saturday 4th February 2017
#22	17	Morgan Williams	Mickleover Sports	vs Frickley Athletic	Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division	Saturday 22nd April 2017

First Team Call Up

A first team call up is someone who is included in the first team match day squad in a competitive game.

#	AGE	STUDENT	CLUB	OPPONENT	COMPETITION	DATE
#1	17	Murtaza Haidary	Mickleover Sports	vs Matlock Town	Evo-Stik Premier Division	Tuesday 16th February 2016
#2	17	Beckham Adelaje	Mossley	vs Scarborough	Evo-Stik Division One North	Tuesday 19th April 2016
#3	16	Dylan Mandaracas	Sutton Coldfield Town	vs Grantham Town	Evo-Stik Premier Division	Monday 29th August 2016
#4	18	Michael Herety	Radcliffe Borough	vs West Didsbury & Chorlton	Manchester Premier Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 27th September 2016
#5	17	Joel Fletcher	Radcliffe Borough	vs West Didsbury & Chorlton	Manchester Premier Cup 1st Round	Tuesday 27th September 2016
#6	17	Billy Whitehead	Matlock Town	vs Basford United	Integro League Cup 2nd Round	Tuesday 24th January 2017
#7	16	Alfie Smith-Eccles	Matlock Town	vs Alfreton Town	Derbyshire Senior Cup Semi-Final	Tuesday 7th February 2017

Inter-League Side

Inter-League side

There are opportunities to be selected for the NPL Football Academy Inter-League side who compete against professional football club academies.

Selection for the side is reward for those students who have impressed all season with their ability, application and attitude and are given the opportunity to showcase their talents against the professional clubs.

DATE	OPPOSITION	SCORE	SCORERS	REPORT
Wednesday 4th May 2016	Oldham Athletic	2-0	Euan Woods (p), Josh Bullock	CLICK HERE
Thursday 19th May 2016	Accrington Stanley	0-4		CLICK HERE
Monday 10th April 2017	Port Vale	2-3	Adam Leach, Tyreece Robinson	CLICK HERE

: Oldham Athletic 2016

: Oldham Athletic 2016

: Accrington Stanley 2016

: Accrington Stanley 2016

Honours

All the stats and honours in the NPL Football Academy’s history.

SEASON	CHAMPIONS	RUNNER UP	CUP WINNER	CUP RUNNER UP	GOLDEN BOOT
2014-15	Mickleover Sports	Romulus	N/A	N/A	22 - Craig Bagshaw (Mickleover Sports)
2015-16	Mickleover Sports	Belper Town	N/A	N/A	27 - Euan Woods (Warrington Town)
2016-17	Mickleover Sports	Matlock Town	Warrington Town	Matlock Town	26 - Euan Woods (Warrington Town)

: 14/15 Champions

: 15/16 Champions

: 16/17 Champions

: 14/15 Golden Boot Winner

: 15/16 Golden Boot Winner

: 15/16 POTY

: 16/17 POTY

: 15/16 TOTY

: 16/17 TOTY