Southend United's academy is granted category three status

Evening Echo · Jul 10, 2014

SOUTHEND United Football Club’s academy has been confirmed in Category Three following their recent Elite Player Performance audit.

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Razam · Jul 11, 2014

Congrats to the club, but the article doesn't actually explain what Category 3 means in real terms?
How does it compare to other League 2/League 1 clubs? Does it mean we now receive more EPP money?

Eddy Melito · Jul 11, 2014

Most league 1/2 clubs are cat 3, with a few in league 1 deciding to pay for facilities to get cat2 and a couple of league 2 clubs virtually closing their youth section and settling for cat4. Category 2 allows academies to take kids on at the age of 9 I think, while the club have to have certain facilities and a certain amount of coaches qualified to a high level. In turn, they get a higher compensation fee if a category 1 club want to sign a player from them. Category 4 basically means the club is only able to take on players at 16, but doesn't have to have such facilities as higher category clubs.

Category 3 is somewhere in between, although I'm unsure of the specifics past that.

Jai · Jul 11, 2014

Nothing to shout about particularly.

Smiffy · Jul 11, 2014

Jai said:
Nothing to shout about particularly.

Not really no.

We are still technically a "Centre of Excellence" rather than an "Academy"

Cat 3 is about par for the course in League 2.

Barnet in fact are Cat 2 I believe!

Chairman Trigg · Jul 11, 2014

Col Ewe have just got Cat 2 status I believe so nothing to gloat about

Eddy Melito · Jul 12, 2014

Smiffy said:
Not really no.

We are still technically a "Centre of Excellence" rather than an "Academy"

Cat 3 is about par for the course in League 2.

Barnet in fact are Cat 2 I believe!

barnet WERE cat 2, but despite wanting to carry on with their investment in youth, they weren't allowed to continue once they were relegated from the league.