A Premier League academy must support a player who leaves in the professional development phase for at least three years from the date his registration ends, through its transition strategy.
What the academy owes at each point
Here is what the academy must provide at each stage.
| When | What the rules require |
|---|---|
| Before and on joining | A pre-season induction event for players and parents, at least one per development phase and one whenever a new player joins, covering the full details of the programme |
| While he is there | A personal development and life skills curriculum, community activity, a named official for part time and hybrid players, and separate feedback channels for players and parents |
| If something goes wrong | A complaints procedure for players and parents, a copy of which goes to the league |
| After he leaves | A transition strategy which, for a player leaving in the professional development phase, must support him for a minimum of three years from the end of his registration |
Support does not stop when a player leaves. For anyone released in the professional development phase, the academy still has a defined duty after the registration ends.
The same set of rules also covers the rest of a player's time in the academy. There must be an induction on entry, support around personal development and life skills while the player is there, and a formal route for complaints if matters need to be raised.
Induction: who attends and what it must cover
Every club which operates an academy must devise and implement both an induction strategy and a transition strategy. Each club must arrange a pre-season induction event for academy players and for their parents, guardians or carers. There must be at least one such event in each development phase, and another whenever a new academy player joins the club.
The meeting has to give players and parents the information they need to understand the full details of the academy programme the player will receive. If the league asks, the club must allow a league representative to attend those meetings.
A separate code of conduct is binding on registered academy players, their parents, guardians or carers, and clubs and officials. A breach by any of them counts as a breach of the rules.
What must be in the support provided while he is at the academy
Every academy must establish a personal development and life skills curriculum supporting the holistic development of each academy player and of players up to the Under 21 age group.
It must include training or coaching in mental health and wellbeing; health and nutrition, taking in brain health, anti-doping and health and safety; careers and further education advice; transition support and preparation; and financial management. It must also cover safeguarding, including social media safety and radicalisation; gambling, anti-corruption and sporting integrity; behaviours and integrity, including healthy relationships; communication and social skills, including dealing with the media; equality, diversity and inclusion; and family support for finding their way through the academy.
The curriculum should be approved and signed off by a staff member with Qualified Teacher Status or qualified teacher learning skills. When it is set for an individual, the club should take account of the player and his needs, his age and stage, the team's needs, and the club's needs.
The programme must also place each academy player and each player up to the Under 21 age group who is on the full time training model or in the professional development phase into activities outside the academy that encourage active involvement in the community and an understanding of good citizenship. Each player must take part unless he has good cause not to.
For academy players on the part time or hybrid training model, the club must nominate an official responsible for their welfare and supervision while they are at the club's facilities.
Feedback channels and complaints are separate duties
A club must devise, implement, and follow up on one or more mechanisms to invite and receive feedback separately from academy players and from their parents, guardians, or carers. That means the player route and the parent route cannot be treated as the same channel.
Alongside that, the club must establish and maintain a complaints procedure for academy players and for their parents, guardians, or carers, and use it where needed. A copy of that procedure must also be sent to the league.
FAQ
What happens to academy players who get released?
If the player leaves in the professional development phase, the academy's transition strategy must support him for a minimum of three years from the date his registration ends. That duty sits after release, not only during his time at the club.
Do Premier League academies have an induction for parents?
Yes. Parents, guardians, or carers are part of the required induction event, and the event has to explain the full details of the academy programme the player will receive.
Can a parent complain to a Premier League academy?
Yes. The complaints procedure has to cover parents, guardians, and carers as well as academy players, and the club must keep that procedure in place.
Is parent feedback the same as making a complaint?
No. The rules require separate feedback mechanisms for players and for parents, guardians, or carers, and they also require a complaints procedure. Those are distinct obligations.