A boy becomes a registered academy player when the club files the league registration form within five days of his signature, the league undertakes the registration, and the board approves it. Most registrations last one year, some last two, and each age group has a limit on how many players a club may hold.
How the process starts
Before full registration, a club may enter into a pre-registration agreement on a league form. That agreement includes the club's undertaking to enter into a scholarship agreement once it has the player's registration, from the last Friday in June of the academic year in which he turns 16, or when he leaves full time education if he is in his Under 17 or Under 18 year. If the board has not authorised it in writing, breaking that undertaking is a breach of the rules.
Each pre-registration agreement must have a written coaching curriculum annexed to it. Until the board approves that programme in writing, the player may not be coached at the academy or take part in its matches, tours, festivals, training camps or tournaments. After approval, he may take part only to the extent set out in that programme.
The club must send the board a copy of every pre-registration agreement within five days of entering into it, together with the signed form, proof of home address and date of birth, and a photograph.
Who may be coached or play at the academy
Only three groups may be coached at that academy or take part in its matches, tours, festivals, training camps or tournaments: players registered with the club, trialists attending a trial under the rules, and players under a pre-registration agreement.
Any player representing a club in a games programme match, festival, tournament or other event must be able to produce a valid registration card issued by the league if the league asks for it at that event. The card may be digital.
Except for a scholar, a player cannot be registered as an academy player unless he is in full time education. That is a condition of registration itself.
Who files the form and who approves it
A club applies by submitting the league's registration form signed by an authorised signatory, along with a copy of the code of conduct, proof of the player's home address and date of birth, and a photograph. The completed form must reach the board within five days of the player signing it.
At the same time, the club must ask the player to complete an ethnicity monitoring questionnaire, or his parents, guardians or carers if he is a minor. Completing it is optional, and if they choose not to, the club should still submit the registration form at once.
The league undertakes academy registrations, but every registration remains subject to the board's approval. If a promoted club already holds a registration undertaken by the EFL, it is treated as if the league had undertaken it, as long as the circumstances comply with the rules.
Registration length and squad limits
Here are the squad caps, age group by age group.
| Age groups | Maximum at any one time |
|---|---|
| Under 9 to Under 14 | 30 in each age group |
| Under 15 and Under 16 | 20 in each age group |
| Under 17 and Under 18 | 30 across both age groups |
| Under 19 to Under 21 | 15 in each age group |
A registration lasts one year in the Under 9, Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16 age groups, and two years in the Under 13 and Under 15 age groups. Those two terms are not the only possibilities. A registration instead runs until the last Friday in June of the academic year in which the player turns 16 if he is on the full time training model, or if the club has applied to the board after he rejected an offer of that model for sound educational reasons and the board, having enquired into the circumstances and satisfied itself that the application is genuine, determines that his registration should run to that date.
The board may also direct the minimum number of academy players a club must register in each age group, and the club must comply. For an Under 9, the application cannot be signed by the player before the third Saturday in May immediately before his Under 9 year.
When a player lives a long way from any academy
This is about where he may register, not whether he may attend. A player in the Under 12 to Under 16 age groups who lives more than one and a half hours' travelling time from the nearest academy may be registered at the nearest club running an academy of the appropriate category, subject to conditions.
Those conditions include a written coaching curriculum covering any coaching he will receive at or near home, designed so that he does not miss school. The head of education must make enquiries with his school at least four times a season and report in writing to the academy manager, who must apply to the board to cancel the registration if a report is adverse. Unless the board has approved other arrangements in writing, a parent, guardian or carer must accompany him both to the academy and back on every visit.
FAQ
How long does a Premier League academy registration last?
It depends on the age group unless one of the longer-term exceptions applies. The longer term is tied to the academic year in which the player turns 16, not to a fresh one-year or two-year cycle.
How many players can a Premier League academy have?
The limits are split by age group, so there is no single club-wide total in these rules. Under 17 and Under 18 are counted together, while the other listed age bands are capped by age group.
Can a club take players from another academy?
Sometimes no. An application is refused outright if another club already holds a current pre-registration agreement with that player, and a second rule refuses an application only where four things are true together: the player is in the Under 10, Under 11 or Under 12 age groups, another club held his registration within the previous 12 months, that former club had given him notice it intended to keep it, and the applying club had already registered two of that former club's players in those age groups within those 12 months. The two clubs may agree otherwise.
What form registers a Premier League academy player?
The formal registration uses the league's registration form and must be signed by an authorised signatory on the club side. Pre-registration uses a league form as well, but it is a separate step with its own filing duty and supporting documents.