Today, it was confirmed that AFC Bournemouth have achieved Category 1 status for their Academy setup, after lodging an appeal to the Professional Game Academy Audit Company, but this news is much more important than it may seem for numerous reasons.
On face value, AFC Bournemouth's Academy moving up from Category 2 to Category 1 may just seem like a small promotion up the Academy rankings, but this is an achievement that the club have been working towards effortlessly since Bill Foley arrived at the club in 2022.
The first difference that the Academy players in the Development Squad will be playing in the PL2, as opposed to the Professional Development League, which is the league that the top category 2 Academies can play in. This will result in a much higher standard of team that the players will be playing against every week, which will be great for their development on the pitch.
Furthermore, now that Cherries have a Category 1 Academy, there will be an increase in desire for young players to make the choice to join the club to receive Category 1 standard coaching and facilities in order to further their development as they get older.
Last season, AFCB only gave 7 minutes of football to players that are currently in the Academy setup, which was the 2nd lowest total out of all of the Premier League teams, with Brentford & Burnley both in last place, giving their academy players 0 minutes all season.
It is no coincidence that both Brentford and Burnley last season had Category 2 academies, however Brentford achieved Category 1 status in the past few months. This shows clear evidence that having a Category 2 Academy alongside a first team that is in the Premier League does not allow for the best development and opportunities for the youth players.
Crystal Palace, Wolves and Brighton all found themselves in the top 5 for minutes played by Academy players, and with AFCB being on a somewhat similar level to both Palace and Brighton, this shows that the club will be able to have younger players come through the ranks and perform to Premier League standards now that they have the same platform that these other clubs have.
Reuters - Hannah McKayBournemouth's most recent Academy graduate that has enjoyed a successful period of time in the First Team was Jaidon Anthony, who recently completed a move to Brentford from Burnley.
Anthony made his First Team debut when AFCB were in the Championship under Scott Parker back in 2022. Since then, the players closest to breaking into the squad were Ben Winterburn, who frequently featured in Premier League Squads under Andoni Iraola.
Apart from that, there has been a distinct lack of opportunities for Academy players at AFC Bournemouth, which is highlighted by both Michael Dacosta Gonzalez and Koby Mottoh leaving the club to join Portuguese side Moreirense permanently. Both of these players were deemed to be 2 of the most exciting talents in the setup, and the face they left to join a different club to play first team minutes shows that satisfaction of opportunities amongst some players was incredibly low.
Flickr/jamesboyesAnother positive note to add on to this, is that now that all of AFCB's Academy players will be playing in the PL2, they will be developing to a level closer to the First Team, which will allow the club to fulfil Europa League Homegrown Player quotas' with players that will be closer to the required level to play minutes and improve the team, as opposed to simply 'making up the numbers'.
