Fleetwood apply for Category Two Academy status
Written by Training Ground Guru — July 31, 2020
FLEETWOOD TOWN have applied to move up to Category Two Academy status from the 2021/22 season and announced a seven-figure investment in their Poolfoot Farm training centre.
The League One club launched their Academy in 2013, entering the EPPP system at Category Four level, and were promoted to Category Three in 2016/17. The new investment will fund a full-sized indoor pitch, with a planning application “due into the Council imminently.”
Staff numbers are also set to increase, with Fleetwood currently employing 12 full-time and 20 part-time staff in their Academy.
Fleetwood-born goalkeeper Billy Crellin, 20, is the standard-bearer for the Academy, having featured five times for the first team and represented England at U17, U18, U19 and U20s level.
Chairman Andy Pilley said: “Our Academy is something we are incredibly proud of at Fleetwood Town and something we intend to continue to grow. The steps we’ve made in recent years has been a credit to everyone involved and we now feel it’s time to take it to the next level.
“The investment we are making at Poolfoot Farm is a real signal of intent, we want to continue to grow and continuously improve both the training ground and our Academy.
“There’s nothing better for a club than to see a young player break through into the first team - particularly a local lad. Hopefully this development will see the stars of the future developed here on the Fylde coast.”
Poolfoot Farm is a £10m training complex and is also available to the local community, with 300,000 users a year.
