Van der Kraan promoted to Chelsea Academy Director – and what it means

He was appointed to lead the youth development programme alongside Jack Francis, who was promoted from Academy Manager for the 9s to 16s to Academy Football Operations Director.

Van der Kraan oversaw football and coaching philosophy, while Francis was responsible for the operational running of the Academy

Now Francis has been moved to Pathways Director, a new role focused specifically on preparing Academy players for the step up into senior football.

Van der Kraan is now positioned as sole Academy Director, sitting above a leadership team of six department heads:

• Delroy Ebanks (Head of Recruitment)
• Jack Christopher (Head of Performance)
• Jamie Sellers (Head of Insights and Intelligence)
• Sam Page (Head of Player and Coach Development)
• Ben Knight (Head of Football Operations)
• Hayley Griffin (Head of Football Services).

Collectively, Chelsea say, this group oversees “every aspect of the Academy’s blueprint”, with Van der Kraan at the top.

Francis has been at Chelsea for almost 16 years, arriving as an International Academy Coach in 2011 before becoming Head of Player Care and then Academy Manager for the 9s to 16s in December 2022.

That background in player welfare and pathway-adjacent age groups lines up closely with the remit of his new position.

Van der Kraan said: “I am incredibly proud and honoured to take on the role of Academy Director at Chelsea after two thoroughly enjoyable years working with an amazing leadership team.

“I want to thank the Sporting Directors and ownership for the faith they have shown in me and also to every single person in the Academy who has played their part in making this development programme successful. This club has a proud history of developing talented players and I am excited to help lead the next chapter.

“We have a clear responsibility to support young players on and off the pitch, create the best possible learning environment, and ensure the Academy continues to play a significant role in the future success of the club. At Chelsea, we are relentless in our drive to make this Academy the best it can be, not just in England but in the world.”

Francis added: “This is a really exciting and innovative project for the club and shows the dedication we have to preparing players for life in men’s football. There is so much talent within the club’s Academy and our job is to help those players fulfil their potential and perform at the highest level.

“We are proud of all we have achieved so far, but we know the best is yet to come, and I thank the club’s ownership and Sporting Directors for this exciting opportunity.”

Chelsea have topped TGG’s exclusive Academy Productivity Rankings for three straight years, with Arsenal second and Manchester United third. The Rankings – the only publicly available resource of their kind in the UK – assess English Academies by the number of graduates who have made at least one appearance in the Premier League, EFL, National League, or the other “Big Five” European leagues in a given season.

Neil Bath, the architect of the modern Chelsea Academy, will be delivering the Day Two keynote at TGG Live 2026. Bath spent 30 years at Chelsea across a variety of senior roles, including Academy Manager and Director of Football Development and Operations, during a period in which the Academy enjoyed one of the most successful spells in its history.

Since leaving, Bath has travelled extensively studying best practice in sport and business, and now runs his own leadership consultancy. TGG Live 2026 delegates will get a rare chance to hear the man behind Chelsea’s Academy rise tell that story first-hand.