Academy plans to continue its expansion efforts with the goal of opening 13 – 15 stores this year and a total of 120 to 140 new stores by the end of 2027.

The academies programme gives individual schools greater freedoms compared to local authority control. Being an academy gives schools the power to decide on the best curriculum for their pupils, determine how they spend their budgets, and much more.

Academy teams are also involved with national development, as they are recognized as feeder programs for players that could potentially be called up to perform at the national level. Every academy team plays around 30 games in a season, competing against one another until the championships every summer.

Academies receive funding directly from the government and are run by an academy trust. They have more control over how they do things than community schools. Academies do not charge fees. Academies are inspected by Ofsted.

Academies have much greater freedom in terms of curriculum, school times, term dates, and most importantly can decide how to allocate funds.

Normally, the person interested will try to contact you, your parents or most commonly your football coach. From there on, there is normally a football trial or even signing straight away! Another way this can happen is by your football coach.

Generally speaking, in England, academy players tend to go to their normal school while a lot of academies in France undertake the education of their players. Their footballing education is always performed by the club at their dedicated training ground.

Academies receive funding directly from the government and are run by an academy trust. They have more control over how they do things than community schools. Academies do not charge fees. Academies are inspected by Ofsted.

A professional football club invest heavily in their academy setups and are usually free of charge for players to join, this is because it is the club that are investing in their future as they have seen potential in the player to one day perhaps develop into a professional footballer.

Pupils in academies study the same core subjects and do the same exams as those in any other school, but unlike schools managed by the local authority, academies can choose to adapt the curriculum, term dates and school hours to help children learn.

Being an academy gives schools the power to decide on the best curriculum for their pupils, determine how they spend their budgets, and much more.

In a nutshell, the answer to our question is pretty clear, no it isn't too late to join a football academy. If your child is keen to get scouted by national league clubs, there are kids across the country who get scouted as toddlers, all the way up to being 22 years old!