Did you know …..
- Fourteen of the 23-man England squad that beat Germany in Berlin, last month, were developed by youth development programmes at Football League clubs.
- There are 8,500 young footballers aged between eight and 18 on the books of their 72 clubs, with 22 academies and 46 centres of excellence in operation.
Did you also know that the Football League are discussing implementing a ‘home-grown players rule’ with effect from 2009?
The rule would require four players in a 16-man match day squad to have been registered domestically for at least three years before their 21st birthday. A player would be deemed "home grown" if he is registered for three entire seasons (or 36 months) prior to turning 21 with a club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales.
This week, on Thursday 18th, The Football League are holding an EGM to discuss this proposal. Lord Mawhinney Chairman of the Football League said:
"It is important we demonstrate that, as a body of clubs, our commitment to youth development is total.
"Not only are we pulling out all the stops to develop these young players in the first place, we are also ensuring that they have the opportunity to show their talent in the first team.
Watch this space for further details on this interesting development in the beautiful game.