Football academy scholarships at 16 in England: what the rules say

When a club can offer a scholarship

The Premier League’s (opens in a new tab) and the EFL’s (opens in a new tab) rules say a club can offer a scholarship to an academy player whose registration it holds from 1 July between the Under 13 and Under 14 seasons, and in any event on or before 31 December in the Under 16 season. Whether to offer one is the club’s decision.

The offer is made in writing on the league’s form, and the club must send a copy to the league within five days. A club that fails without reasonable cause to honour an offer it has notified to the league can face disciplinary action under the league’s rules.

A club with a Category 4 academy, which the EFL’s handbook says works only with players from Under 17, can offer a scholarship only to a player who is not an academy player, or, from 1 January in their Under 16 season, to an Under 16 player who is free to look elsewhere because no offer came by 31 December or they were told in writing that none would.

Replying to an offer

Your child has 28 days to reply, on the league’s form. If they do not reply in time, the rules treat the offer as not accepted.

If your child turns the offer down, the rules say they are free after the first Saturday in June following their Under 16 season to look for a place at another club. Compensation may then be due between the clubs, and if the two clubs cannot agree it, the Professional Football Compensation Committee decides it. Families do not pay it.

The initial term of a scholarship can be up to two years. Before you reply, you can get free, independent advice from the PFA Youth Advisory Service (opens in a new tab), which the EFL’s handbook says explains the pros and cons of signing scholarship agreements.

If no offer comes by 31 December

If an Under 16 player has not been offered a scholarship by 31 December, or has been told in writing that one will not be offered, both leagues’ rules say they are free to look for a place at another club’s academy. Both leagues’ rules say no compensation is due in that case unless the player remains in full-time education beyond their Under 16 year. If they do, the automatic no-compensation rule does not apply, so ask the clubs or the PFA Youth Advisory Service how compensation would be handled.

Another club can then offer a scholarship, and other clubs can offer trials: our guide to football academy trials explains the rules for them. Our guide to being released from an academy covers the support available, including the EFL’s Under 16 assessment trials.

What a scholarship involves

Under both leagues’ rules:

• a scholarship can start no earlier than the last Friday in June of the school year in which the player turns 16, and the player must be under 18 when it is signed (with an exception for a player whose earlier scholarship was cancelled by agreement);
• its first term can be no longer than two years;
• the scholar must complete an education programme: the sporting excellence professional apprenticeship with a league-approved education programme that includes an academic or vocational qualification and at least 10 hours a week of education, or another programme the league approves;
• the scholar is paid at a level set by the league, and a club must not offer more than that, or any other benefit, to persuade a player to sign.

The Premier League’s standard scholarship agreement, set out in its rules, adds that pay must be at least the National Minimum Wage, that the club can extend the agreement by one year with written notice by the third Saturday in May of its second year, and that by the third Saturday in May of the final year the club must tell the scholar in writing whether it will offer a professional contract. The EFL’s handbook (opens in a new tab) says League Football Education delivers the apprenticeship programme on behalf of the EFL and the PFA, and supports apprentices with the Level 3 Sporting Excellence Professional apprenticeship, a UEFA C coaching certificate and an education course set at an appropriate level. Ask the club which programme your child would follow, and for a copy of the agreement your child would sign, and read it before signing.

If a scholar later wants to leave, the Premier League’s standard agreement lets them apply to cancel their registration with 14 days’ written notice to the club and the league. If the club agrees and the agreement ends that way, the league will not register them as a player for two years unless the club consents or the clubs agree compensation. If the club does not agree, it can ask the league to decide. For an EFL club, ask the club how its agreement deals with this. Either way, talk to the PFA Youth Advisory Service before taking that step.

Pre-registration agreements for players who live further away

From 1 January in any season, a club can make a pre-registration agreement with a player who lives more than one and a half hours’ travel from its academy, is in their Under 16, Under 17 or Under 18 year, is in full-time education, and is not registered with another Premier League or EFL club (unless the league approves the player staying registered at their current club until the agreement takes effect). In it, the club gives an undertaking to enter into a scholarship agreement with the player once it holds their registration: for an Under 16 player, from the last Friday in June of the school year they turn 16; for an older player, when they leave full-time education. The player cannot train or play at the club until the league has approved a written coaching programme.

Professional contracts

From 1 November after the start of the Under 16 season, a club can offer an academy player a professional contract that would start when they turn 17, subject to the scholarship and pre-registration rules. The rules say a player who signs a professional contract before finishing their education programme stays subject to the same education requirements as a scholar.

School leaving age and the law in England

Separately from the football rules, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab) says that in England a young person can leave school on the last Friday in June if they will be 16 by the end of the summer holidays, and that until 18 they must stay in full-time education, start an apprenticeship, or spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering while in part-time education or training. The leagues’ rules say a scholar’s education programme must meet the requirements of the Education and Skills Act 2008. GOV.UK gives the same leaving date for Wales, but the requirement to stay in education or training until 18 that it describes applies in England. If your child is at a Welsh club, ask the club and their school.

Before you decide

Questions to ask the club:

1. Which education or apprenticeship programme and qualification would my child follow, where, and how much time each week?
2. Where would they live, and who looks after them if they live away from home?
3. Can we have a copy of the scholarship agreement to read before signing?
4. What support does the club give scholars who are not offered a professional contract?

The PFA Youth Advisory Service can advise on the offer and the agreement. If an agent approaches you, our guides to how football scouts find young players and football agents and young players explain how to check them.

If you have a concern

For a safeguarding concern, tell the club’s safeguarding staff without delay, and ask the club who they are. The Premier League’s rules require each of its clubs to have a Head of Safeguarding and an Academy safeguarding officer, and the EFL’s handbook says your child’s club has a Senior Safeguarding Manager and a Designated Safeguarding Officer.

You do not have to report through the club first. If your concern is about someone at the club, or you do not feel able to use the club route, you can go directly to the Premier League’s safeguarding team, or the EFL’s safeguarding team for an EFL club. The FA’s reporting page (opens in a new tab) also lists County FA Designated Safeguarding Officers and The FA’s own safeguarding team as routes. For a Welsh club in the English leagues, the Football Association of Wales safeguarding guidance (opens in a new tab) says concerns can be raised with the club safeguarding officer or the FAW Safeguarding Team. Adults can contact the NSPCC helpline, and Childline is there for children and young people up to their 19th birthday. The Premier League’s handbooks for the Foundation Phase (opens in a new tab) and the Youth Development Phase (opens in a new tab), and the EFL’s handbook (opens in a new tab), give contact details.

If you think a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, contact your local authority’s children’s social care (children’s social services in Wales). If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.