Check the journey to an academy
Premier League rules: a player aged U9 to U11 must live within one hour's travel of the academy. U12 to U16, ninety minutes. It is measured by road. Enter your postcode for an estimate. Confirm the journey and any exceptions with the club.
Estimate from a route service. Traffic and the club’s own calculation may differ. Clubs measure with their own route planner. A result near the limit is a conversation with the club, not a verdict. Read this club's pathway page.
How travel limits affect academy registration
A club can invite anyone to trial. It cannot register a U9 to U11 player who lives more than an hour away, or a U12 to U16 player more than ninety minutes away. The trial can go well and still end with nothing.
Clubs running a full-time programme with education can recruit from anywhere at U14 and above. That is why host families exist, and why the rule stops protecting local players at fourteen.
The rules say a family cannot relocate for the purpose of football to satisfy the limit. Genuine moves for work are fine. Clubs check.