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Category 3League OneU9 to U18

Does AFC Wimbledon run academy trials?

Cherry Red Records Stadium, Plough Lane · Wimbledon, south-west London

NoStraight answer

Not for the academy, but the door into the pathway costs seven pounds. The AFC Wimbledon Foundation runs a Player Development Centre for ages 7 to 16 on Wednesday evenings in Southfields and Saturday mornings at Wimbledon Park. A single trial session is £7 and a half-term block is £35. The Foundation says its job is to bridge community and academy football, and it publishes the result: in 2022/23, 17 development centre players went on extended academy trials and 3 were accepted.

Category3
First entryU9
Trial session£7
2022/2317 trialled, 3 signed
Open trialsAcademy: none
Post-16Education programme
The real routes in

4 ways players actually get in.

Paid trial session into the development centre, then extended academy trial for the few who stand out.

  1. 01
    Paid programme£7 trial, £35 half term
    Foundation Player Development Centre trial

    Book a single trial session for £7. Sessions are an hour: warm-up, skills, then forty minutes of small-sided games in age groups. Wednesdays 6pm at the Aspire Centre, Southfields, and Saturday mornings at Wimbledon Park.

    Official page ↗
  2. 02
    Official route
    Extended academy trial from the development centre

    Players who stand out are put forward for extended trials with the academy. Seventeen were in one season, three signed. Small numbers, honestly reported.

    Official page ↗
  3. 03
    Scouted
    Scouted at grassroots in south-west London

    A Category 3 academy recruits locally. Scouts watch junior football in Merton, Wandsworth, Kingston and Sutton.

  4. 04
    Official route
    Education Football Programme, 16 to 18

    Sixth-form study at Southfields Academy or Richmond upon Thames College alongside competitive fixtures in the CEFA league. Trials bookable. Relevant for released scholars and late developers.

    Official page ↗
Where scouts watch
  • Merton, Wandsworth
  • Kingston, Sutton, Richmond
  • Wider south-west London
  • EPPP limit: 1 hour travel U9 to U11, 90 minutes U12 to U16
If a scout calls
  1. Ask whether it is the Foundation development centre or an academy trial. The Foundation says which in writing.
  2. Ask how long the extended trial is and who reviews it. Category 3 academies have smaller staffs, so the coach you meet is likely the decision-maker.
  3. Category 3 means fewer coaching hours than Category 1 or 2, and local recruitment. That can suit a child who wants to stay at their school and grassroots club.
  4. Check the travel rule to Plough Lane. One hour at U9 to U11.
Watch out

Three things parents get sold.

Three signings from seventeen trials is the real conversion rate. The Foundation publishes it. Read it before paying for a term.
A Category 3 academy can lose its best players to higher-category clubs with compensation. Ask what happens if that approach comes.
The Plough Lane 5-a-side pitches are a community facility, not the academy.
Sources

Last verified 5 September 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will re-check within a week.

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