If your child is released from a football academy

When decisions are made and how you are told

Before each registration period ends, the club writes to you with its plan for the next season or seasons. The Premier League’s and the EFL’s handbooks both say so. That letter is how you learn whether your child is being kept on, in the Foundation Phase (Under 9 to Under 11) and in the Youth Development Phase (Under 12 to Under 16).

Scholarships, for the years after Under 16, have their own timetable. Under the Premier League’s 2026/27 Youth Development Phase handbook (opens in a new tab), a club can offer a scholarship from 1 July between the Under 13 and Under 14 seasons, and no later than 31 December in the Under 16 season. A player has 28 days to reply, and no reply counts as turning the offer down.

After release: what your child is free to do

Once the registration has ended, your child can join another club. That includes grassroots clubs, which registered academy players from Under 12 are not allowed to play for, and other academies, within the travel time limits our guide to how football academies work sets out. The Premier League’s handbook says no compensation is due between clubs when an academy has released a player at the end of a registration. If instead you asked to end the registration, or your child turned down a new one, compensation may be owed between clubs; families do not pay it.

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 systems allow him to look for a place at another club. Both leagues’ 2026/27 rules say no compensation is due, except where the player stays in full-time education beyond his Under 16 year.

Support from the club

The Premier League’s and the EFL’s handbooks both say a club that does not extend a registration is expected to provide support, for example by helping find other opportunities for the child to keep playing or developing. Both leagues’ handbooks say each Category One, Two or Three academy has a Head of Player Care. Ask them what help the club will give.

For players released in the Professional Development Phase, from Under 17 to Under 21, the Premier League says (opens in a new tab) “a three-year commitment of aftercare support is in place”, covering education and careers advice and wellbeing support.

Support from the PFA, the Premier League and the EFL

• The PFA Youth Advisory Service (opens in a new tab) gives free advice to academy players and their families, confidential unless a safeguarding concern comes up, including on end-of-season procedures and requesting release. The PFA, the players’ union, says it is not affiliated with leagues, clubs or governing bodies.
• The PFA Safety Net (opens in a new tab) is an online platform of videos and animations for young players on the pressures of academy football, from managing feelings to where to get support. Parents can use it too.
• The Premier League’s 2026/27 handbook describes residential transition programmes for Under 16 players not offered a scholarship, and for players of 18 and over not offered a professional contract. The EFL’s 2026/27 handbook (opens in a new tab) describes development events for Under 16 and Under 18 players in the same position, and says the Under 16 events are organised by the EFL and the Premier League together. It also describes Under 16 assessment trials, which the EFL stages for players not offered a scholarship and which scouts from other clubs and from colleges attend; a player has to be nominated by their club. Ask your child’s academy how to take part.
• At EFL clubs, the EFL’s handbook names League Football Education as support for players released at the end of a scholarship, including assessment trials for players not offered a further registration when their apprenticeship ends.

Helping your child

Give your child room to be disappointed, and avoid rushing them into deciding what comes next. If they want to keep playing, help them find a club where they can enjoy football again. If the release is affecting school, consider letting a trusted member of staff know.

If low mood or anxiety lasts for a prolonged period, or you have serious concerns about how your child is feeling or acting, speak to their GP or someone they trust at school.

If anything worries you about their safety, treat it as a safeguarding matter. You can tell the academy’s safeguarding officer or the Premier League’s safeguarding team (or the EFL’s, for an EFL academy). The FA’s reporting page (opens in a new tab) also lists County FA Designated Safeguarding Officers and The FA’s own safeguarding team. You do not have to report through the club first. If your concern is about someone at the club, you can go straight to another route. Adults can contact the NSPCC helpline, and Childline is there for children and young people up to their 19th birthday. If you think a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, contact your local authority’s children’s social care. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Our guide to how football academies work gives the full route.

Going back to grassroots

You can search for clubs near you by age group and match day. When you contact a club, ask whether it has space in your child’s age group, what level its teams play at, how it decides playing time and when it trains. Our guides to choosing a club and changing football clubs cover what else to ask and how registration works.

If you think the process was not followed

Start with the academy: raise it informally, then use its formal complaints process, including any appeal or internal review it offers. At a Premier League club, the handbook says you can then take it to the Premier League. At an EFL club, the EFL’s handbook says the EFL cannot itself resolve complaints about how a club or its staff behave, though you can copy a complaint to the EFL and it may try to help. If the registration is still running and the issue is whether it should be ended, the handbook describes a separate application to the EFL Board as a last resort; the matter is referred to an independent commission. The PFA Youth Advisory Service can advise on the rules either way.

If your concern is about your child’s safety or wellbeing, it is a safeguarding matter, not a complaint: use the safeguarding route above.