Module · Sporting
Academy & Talent
Development cost becomes player value when the pathway is measured and managed like an investment.
The module dashboard
Illustrative data
Three academy players debuted this season and graduates now play 11% of first-team minutes — retention of top-rated players is up six points since IDPs and the parent-communication rhythm launched.
The assessment
Questions that already know your league.
Every question comes with suggested answers per club size, drawn from what small, medium and large clubs actually report. Three of the 25:
Base size sets the funnel; quality of pathway matters more than raw volume (ECA).
Gaps in the age ladder break the pathway and leak talent to rivals.
Debuts are the headline output metric in every academy benchmarking framework.
Open to read
Best practices with the evidence attached.
One game model and development curriculum applied from U8 to first team.
Academies with one documented game model from U8 up report smoother first-team transitions and fewer wasted development years. (ECA academy reports)
One accountable owner for the pathway, standards and budget.
A single accountable head is a consistent marker of high-performing academies — standards and budgets need an owner. (ECA academy reports)
Termly reviewed IDPs with player and parents for the top 20% per age.
Termly-reviewed IDPs are standard at leading academies; players with them typically progress and retain better than cohort peers. (ECA academy reports)
22 more best practices for academy & talent, with status tracking and euro predictions, live in the workspace.