You've probably dreamed of winning the Premiership, scoring the winning goal in the Cup final or leading your country at the World Cup.

What exactly is an Academy?
Academies are special training schemes set up by clubs to help them develop young players. All Premiership clubs have them. Other League clubs run either Academies or Centres of Excellence, which are run along the same lines. Many non-league clubs also run their own development schemes or community projects.

A few weeks back, I went to the Swansea Schools Football Association Centenary Dinner at the Liberty Stadium with family, friends and colleagues from TCSA. It was a great night out. Three course meal, the works.

How To Get A Club To Select You Ahead Of Many Good Players

You are a skilled young soccer player (or what we call football in the UK) and you dream of getting scouted playing as a student athlete at a top

How To Get Scouted In Soccer and Stand-out EVERY TIME You Play You never know who’s watching. This webesite gives you the trials and tools on how to get scouted.....

Whether you’re a young player, or a young sports leader, taking part in a football trial represents an exciting opportunity. But how do you get involved, and most importantly, how do you win? Read on to find out more.

After numerous interviews with some of the best footballers on the planet, we have gained some insight into their careers and how they made it as professionals.

Football academies were developed by the leading clubs so that they could identify and nurture talented players from as young as eight. The 9,000 boys in their ranks are desperate to succeed, but only a handful will make it to the top.

My teammates and I lived on fast food, spent hours playing football and never studied. It sounds like every boy's dream but it was the hardest thing I've ever done.

So, you wanna become a professional footballer? Well you’ve come to the right place because we've got everything you need to know about turning pro

It’s probably just about every young or amateur league footballer’s dream to get scouted by a top Premier League club.

Players have taken very different routes after being released by top clubs

What are scouts looking for from young players on a Sunday morning? Which attributes, personality traits and raw skills set kids on the road to footballing stardom?

It is difficult not impossible. First you must understand, very few of them make it big (club/national team etc) but it’s all about the talent you have and hard work you are going to do during the period. 

Dedication and consistency - this is what marks professional footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo out from the rest of us.

The Dream

The day your son was born, you had dreams.  Heck, if you’re like me, those dreams started a decade or more before they were even conceived.  As time goes on however, those dreams (and subsequently, your son’s goals) have been dashed to the harsh reality that the odds to become a professional soccer player in the United States are as probable as being crushed by a vending machine at a vegan market.

I work as a football scout for a professional club in Scotland and also provide player information for club...

Here sees Nick Haycock, a top scout for Premier League side Southampton, outline 10 key points for players trying to pave themselves a career in football.

For many, when their child is spotted by a scout for a professional football club and is selected to be groomed as a future football star.....

We step inside the world of football scouting to find out exactly what the game's recruitment experts look for in their pursuit of talent

Harry Redknapp recently took a phone call from a scout, who told him he’d just watched the best prospect he’d seen in his 30-year search for talent.

I want to play professionally, but how do I get a soccer trial or tryout? “

Rod Ruddick is rummaging around in his office at his home near Bath and has just found a piece of paper that ought to be in a frame on his mantelpiece.

#13 WHAT IF I'M REJECTED, BY A FOOTBALL ACADEMY?

You've got to be realistic.

Just think. How many new young players does a club like Liverpool or Arsenal sign every season?

This is a question that is often repeated and goes through every football player’s mind. What is it that scouts want to see and how to get them to notice you?

Football is a sport enjoyed by millions in UK. Whether you pull on the shirt for your local team on a Sunday, or just pull on your favorite team's jersey and cheer them on with a pint and a pie, making it as a professional football player has crossed the minds of every single one of us.

A club invites you to join its Academy. What happens now?

Paul Holder, former assistant Academy director at Crystal Palace, explains the next stages

Football is watched and played by hundreds of millions of people across the globe, enjoying the beautiful game week in week out with friends, families and sometimes people we haven't met before. 

So how do you become a professional soccer player? Or how do you become a better soccer player so you can eventually play pro or college soccer?