FAW says parents misled over football academies

Parents looking for elite football coaching for their children are being misled by private organisations claiming to be academies, Wales’ governing body has warned.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said there was growing concern about the number of non-accredited training bodies saying they were academies without the relevant licence or governance.

It comes amid claims that former Wales star Natasha Harding, now known by her married name Allen-Wyatt, took money for children’s coaching that was not delivered by her Tash Harding Academy.

Ms Allen-Wyatt has admitted cancelling “some sessions” due to circumstances outside her control and apologised to those affected.

Licensed football academies provide a pathway for the most talented youngsters to develop their skills with a view to reaching the professional game.

The FAW has established the National Academi for registered and affiliated academies in Wales which are categorised as A, B or C.

Only such organisations can call themselves academies and anyone using the FAW logo or branding to advertise a private setup will be asked to remove it.

The BBC has been told that FAW lawyers wrote to Ms Allen-Wyatt asking her to remove its badge from early branding for her coaching enterprise.

Ms Allen-Wyatt did not respond to questions about this when the allegations against her first emerged.

Drew Sherman, head of FAW National Academi, said: “There is ambiguity around the term academy.

“People are selling the dream who aren’t necessarily accredited or qualified to make that dream a reality.”

He said official academies were “a good environment for any child” with FAW-qualified staff who have had a background check and are first aid qualified.

There is concern about the blurring of lines between training programmes for the most talented young players aiming to make it to the professional game and those offering a more inclusive, fun environment.

The FAW acknowledged there was a place for both, but stressed the importance of parents being aware of the difference when signing up their children.

There are up to 3,000 children playing across 18 FAW-accredited academies – 14 of which have the full 10 age group teams, from under-8s to under-19s.

The remaining four clubs have half this age group structure.

Neil Ward, chief executive of Penybont FC which runs an A-licensed academy, said there was a “growing trend” of unlicensed private coaches calling their operations academies.

He urged parents to be “more inquisitive” and ask about issues such as minimum coaching qualifications, training time, additional support around physical preparation training, safeguarding and first aid.

“What’s important is that parents reassure themselves about the quality of provision by researching who’s providing the coaching and are they regulated under the governing body,” he added.

Academies in Wales receive funding from UEFA and charge parents, unlike academies in England, which are free.

Mr Ward said this was due to better funding for Football League clubs in England, but in Wales the cost was about “£1.50 to £2 per session over 40-plus weeks of training per year”.

He added: “It’s affordable and helps us offset some costs, and we also fundraise to keep costs down as much as possible.”

In the girls’ game, the FAW runs academies in north and south Wales for promising players aged 11-17.

There are also opportunities to access extra training through the FAW’s development centre, a bespoke programme of competitive fixtures for girls against boys.

Paul Kirton, founder and managing director of Team Grassroots, which represents the amateur game, expressed his worries about the proliferation of so-called academies across England and Wales.

“There’s been an explosion in private football coaching providers who use academy in their title and in some cases charge four or five times more than grassroots clubs,” he said.

“People think they’re paying for something special but actually it’s not any different from the grassroots club.”

He added that the word academy should only be used by coaches who have been given the A, B or C ranking by the FAW.

“The inference of that word is that it’s something professional, whereas the reality might be something completely different.”

The FAW said it urged parents, carers and football clubs to “undertake safeguarding and business assurances when engaging with third party providers, who are not affiliated to a national governing body” with safeguarding guidance available online.