How many academy players become professionals?
Choose an academy category to see the published figures. Each dot represents one player out of 100. These figures describe groups of players, not your child’s individual chances.
299 scholars followed from 16 to 26.
A scholarship does not guarantee a long professional career. This study followed players into adulthood.
Chris Platts, longitudinal study of a scholarship cohort
Birth dates of academy players
Share of academy players by quarter of the selection year. A quarter of children are born in each. Check your child's quarter.
University of Essex ten-year study of academy players; European relative age effect literature. Q2 to Q4 are the remaining share split in the proportions found across European academy studies. The Q1 figure is the published one.
Figures published by clubs
These figures come from individual clubs or their charities. Check the source for the group and period each figure covers.
| Club | What they published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Charlton Athletic | 72 first-team graduates since 1998; 12 of 18 U16s offered scholarships in 2024 | i, June 2024 |
| Reading | 19 players from the trust's Elite tier into academy football in 2025 | Reading Chronicle, May 2026 |
| AFC Wimbledon | 17 development-centre players on extended academy trials, 3 accepted, 2022/23 | AFC Wimbledon Foundation |
| Crystal Palace | 30+ players from the Palace for Life pathway into the academy | Palace for Life Foundation via Football Parent |
| Brentford | 114 players recruited and 54 full-time staff hired in the academy rebuild, 2022 to 2025 | BBC Sport, May 2025 |
| Philadelphia Union | 29 homegrown players to the first team, 10 more to Union II | Philadelphia Union |
| Arsenal | Most recent first-team graduates started at U9 in the first Hale End intake | Per Mertesacker, Arsenal.com, Dec 2025 |
Updated 28 September 2026. Know a published figure we are missing? Send it with the source.