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Category 1Premier LeagueU9 to U21

Does Ipswich Town run academy trials?

Playford Road training ground · Rushmere St Andrew, Ipswich

NoStraight answer

No open trials for the academy itself, which is scout led from Playford Road. The Ipswich Town Foundation, the club's charity, runs the open door: Player Development Centres for ages 6 to 12 anyone can book, and advertised open trials for the boys' Elite Player Development Centres and the girls' Emerging Talent Centre and Performance Squads. Strong players there are referred to the academy's recruitment team. Category 1 since July 2025, the club's first time at the top tier.

Category1 (since 2025/26)
First entryU9
FeederIpswich Town Foundation
Open trialsAcademy: none. Foundation: yes
BasePlayford Road
GirlsWSL 2 club, conditional licence
The real routes in

4 ways players actually get in.

Foundation open trial (boys EPDC or girls ETC), then invitation into the season's programme; academy proper is scout-led on top of that.

  1. 01
    Official routeFree to trial
    Boys Elite Player Development Centre, open trials

    Open trials for the Foundation's invite-track Elite Player Development Centres (EPDC) at venues including Colchester, Bury St Edmunds and St Joseph's College. Anyone not already in the pathway can attend; standouts are invited to join the season's EPDC.

    Official page ↗
  2. 02
    Official routeFree to trial
    Girls' pathway open trials, ETC and Performance Squads

    Annual open trials for players not yet in the Foundation's Girls Player Pathway, for the FA Emerging Talent Centre and Performance Squads, the top tier of the female programme.

    Official page ↗
  3. 03
    Paid programmePaid, weekly
    Player Development Centres, ages 6 to 12

    Weekly bookable coaching for all abilities at venues including Portman Road, Copleston, St Joseph's College, Bury St Edmunds, East Bergholt and Woodbridge, with girls-only and goalkeeper-only options.

    Official page ↗
  4. 04
    Scouted
    Scouted at grassroots

    Academy scouts cover Suffolk and Essex leagues. Category One status from 2025/26 allows the club to recruit nationally from U16 and play in the elite Premier League 2 and U18 Premier League.

Where scouts watch
  • Ipswich and central Suffolk
  • Essex, including Colchester and Chelmsford
  • Wider East of England, with national recruitment from U16
  • EPPP limit: 1 hour travel U9 to U11, 90 minutes U12 to U16
If a scout calls
  1. Check whether an offer is for a Foundation Player Development Centre, an EPDC/ETC place, or the academy itself; only the academy at Playford Road formally registers players.
  2. A £30m redevelopment of Playford Road was under way through 2025 and 2026; ask whether trial or training venues have moved while building work finishes.
  3. For girls, the pathway is changing fast: the women's team only secured a conditional Professional Game Academy licence for 2026/27, so ask what age groups are actually running before enrolling.
Girls

WSL 2 club, conditional licence.

Girls' academies are licensed by the FA, not the Premier League. How the girls' pathway works.

Ipswich Town Women play in WSL 2 with a U21 side in the PGA Southern Division. The BBC reported no licensed academy as of April 2026, and the club holds only a conditional PGA licence for 2026/27. The Foundation's girls' ETC and Performance Squads run open trials in Suffolk.

Official routeFree to trial
Girls' pathway open trials, ETC and Performance Squads

Annual open trials for players not yet in the Foundation's Girls Player Pathway, for the FA Emerging Talent Centre and Performance Squads, the top tier of the female programme.

Official page ↗
Watch out

Three things parents get sold.

A Foundation Player Development Centre place is paid weekly coaching. It feeds the Foundation's own elite centres first, and the academy only after that.
Elite Player Development Centre trials are open, free and real, but they are trials for the charity's squads, not the academy. Ask what the step from there to Playford Road looked like last year, with numbers.
Third-party "Ipswich trials" in Colchester and Bury St Edmunds are not the club. If it is not on itfc.co.uk or the Foundation site, it is not Ipswich.
Sources

Last verified 7 September 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will re-check within a week.

Nearby

Other academies in reach.

Category 1

Norwich City

Colney, Norwich · U9 to U21

No open trials · 4 real routes in

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Category 3

Leyton Orient

Chigwell, Essex border with east London · U9 to U18

No open trials · 4 real routes in

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Category 1

West Ham United

Chadwell Heath, east London and Essex border · U9 to U21

No open trials · 4 real routes in

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