Town Academy Awarded Category One Status
Friday, 11th Jul 2025 14:46

Town have confirmed that the academy has been awarded category one status.

The Blues announced their intention to move from category two, the level they have been operating since the introduction of the EPPP [Elite Player Performance Plan] in 2012, to category one in March last year following the investment from Bright Path Sports Partners.

Having been audited by the Professional Game Academy Audit Company (PGAAC), Town’s Playford Road set-up met all the requirements - the Blues having added to their staff over the last year - and will operate at Category One level from the start of the 2025/26 campaign.

Town have become the 29th category one club with Birmingham City and Burnley also elevated from category two this summer.

The Blues’ U21s, coached by John McGreal and Chris Casement, will play at Premier League 2 and the U18s, run by David Wright and Matt Pooley, in the U18 Premier League next season, facing academy sides from the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, rather than clubs largely from outside the Premier League as was the case in category two’s Professional Development League Two South.

“This is an important step forward for the club,” Town chairman and CEO Mark Ashton said.

“Since we arrived in 2021 we have consistently said we would look to move the academy to category one status when the time is right.

“We’re delighted to have now achieved that and this is testament to the hard work of Dmitri Halajko [academy director], his team, and all at the club.

“Moving to category one gives us the best chance of recruiting, developing, and retaining the best young players, aided by an elite-level games programme.

“This status, as well as the significant and ongoing investment in industry-leading facilities at Playford Road, is an exciting step for the cademy as we continue to grow all areas of the club.”

Academy director Dmitri Halajko added: “To gain category one status from the Premier League is a huge achievement which puts Ipswich Town in the top bracket for youth development in this country.

“Staff at the club have worked incredibly hard to achieve this status, which will help us recruit, retain, and develop better young players with the ultimate aim of helping them progress to our first team.

“For our young players to now have the opportunity to play against the best teams in the country week in and week out is an extremely positive step which will stretch and develop every player and help them reach their highest possible level.”

Town, who are in the process of upgrading their training ground, previously applied for category one status in the summer of 2014 but missed out by 0.3 per cent in the audit with the lack of players having come through into the first team in the immediately preceding years among the factors.

Since then, the requirements both from a facilities and staffing perspective have moved on significantly.

Photo: Action Images

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.

Page:
1
2

del45 added 19:27 - Jul 11 What about some news on the 2 so stated?? Signings.
0

SuffolkPunchFC added 20:42 - Jul 11

blueoutlook, Ashton never said he wasn’t interested in Cat 1. At the fans forum late in 2022, he said that for now there was no practical difference between Cat 1 and 2 for the club, and that the priority was promotion out of L1.

The priorities changed as we got promoted, and the club has been heavily investing in the Academy, and achieving Cat 1, for the past couple of years.

patrickswell added 21:38 - Jul 11

Blueoutlook - I suspect Ashton’s initial disinterest was because there were other priorities when he arrived, such as getting out of League One and making improvements to Portman Road and the fan experience.
It may be that getting to the Premier League ahead of schedule, and deciding not to throw absolutely everything at trying to stay up, meant that wider infrastructure at the club could be improved. If we want to ensure that we are playing in or in the hunt for the Premier League, it makes sense to ensure that all aspects of the club get exposed to the relevant standards.

ronnyd added 22:32 - Jul 11 When you consider all the half arsed attempts to get it when Evans was here, this seems to have accomplished relatively quickly.
0

Tractor_Boy_in_HK added 04:42 - Jul 12 Now, let's actually set about developing a player or two for the first team squad. Luke W graduated from the academy many years ago now, and Cam the only other academy graduate around the first team squad.
0

Carberry added 08:58 - Jul 12

The thing about academies is every year they have to produce a player who gets into the first team or is sold for what it costs to run the department, otherwise it's a drain on resources. Some clubs, like Brentford , ditched their academy to save money and created a 'B' team to develop players who were ready to step into the first team. However Premier League rules meant they had to re-open it. It is a difficult balance between costs and reward, although we all love to see kids come through. Ironic we got Cat 1 as we got relegated and Klug departed.