The full extent of Swansea City’s substantial academy saving revealed and the innovation club legend Alan Curtis will spearhead – Wales Online

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Design in Design Innovation | 0 Comments

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Swansea City will save in the region of £4million per season after dropping its academy to category two level.

Ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, it was confirmed that the Swans’ academy had lost its category one status as the club continued to reduce costs following the relegation from the Premier League in 2018.

The Swans are currently in the final year of receiving parachute payments – a sum that in year three amounts to around £15million, down from £40million and £35million in the previous two seasons.

Speaking in February 2020, former chairman Trevor Birch revealed it cost the Swans £3m per year to operate a category one level academy.

However, given that those sums can change due to various different costs such as staffing levels, it’s understood a club of Swansea’s size would expect to spend around £6million to £7million to operate a category one level academy compared to around £2million for category two.

But the saving made by dropping down to a category two academy will prove vital in Swansea’s bid to ensure they remain financially stable.

And chief executive Winter has revealed running an academy at category two level costs just a third of what it would to operate at category one status.

“Mark Allen joined the club as academy director in January and we previously announced our decision last summer to move back to a category two academy,” he told the club’s official website.

“It is important to state that the academy will always remain central to the club’s strategy.

“In Steve Cooper we have a head coach who is very good at working with young players, but it is also now about making our academy the best category two academy so that we can continue the pathway for players.

“In order to retain young players and show them that this club is serious about what it does, you have to create pathways for them and, at the end of that pathway, there has to be opportunity.

“So, trading players allows other players to be exposed to the first team probably sooner than anticipated sometimes, but nevertheless the opportunity can be great for a young player to prove themselves.

“Economically, we would probably be looking at three times the operational cost of a category one academy compared to category two.

“Naturally, category one can help in certain recruitment scenarios, but the club was successful at category two level prior to that so, in short, the move won’t affect our ongoing recruitment strategy.”

The club’s under-23s currently play in the Southern section of the Professional Development League given that they are no longer able to compete in Premier League 2.

Current first-team stars including Ben Cabango and Connor Roberts are products of the club’s youth system while the likes of Daniel James, Joe Rodon and Oli McBurnie – who have all been sold for significant sums – also came through Swansea’s academy.

Meanwhile, Winter has also revealed the club are in the process of setting up a former players’ association.

The ex-Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe United man has confirmed club icon Alan Curtis will be a key figure in the new innovation which is expected to get up and running for the 2021/22 campaign.

“As you are aware, I have previously been CEO for a few other clubs in the EFL and one of the early findings for me at Swansea was that there wasn’t a former players’ association in place,” he added.

“This is something very close to my heart being an ex-player myself, and I am pleased to say that we are in the process of forming an official former players’ association with the support of the Supporters’ Trust and Community Trust.

“Club legend Alan Curtis MBE will be intrinsic to this arm of the club, and we are currently forming the plan to get this up and running for next season.

“A former players’ association will make any former player of the club always feel welcome at the Liberty, while it will also be a support mechanism should a player need extra support.”