How do players get into the Nottingham Forest academy?

Nottingham Forest Official Soccer Schools: Community trust sessions across Nottinghamshire (West Bridgford, Kimberley, Stapleford and other venues) for boys and girls aged 6 to 12, all abilities welcome. Academy scouts are known to watch these regularly, and standout players can be flagged for a look at the development centres. Scouted at grassroots across the East Midlands: Forest run a national and regional scouting network, including local Foundation and Youth Development Phase scouts and specialist national scouts from U14 upward. Trials for those flagged run through the Academy Recruitment Co-Ordinator, who manages the whole U9 to B Team trial process.

What should parents do if a Nottingham Forest scout makes contact?

Ask whether the contact is from the academy or the community trust. Both wear the badge. Only the academy registers players. Check the travel rule from home to West Bridgford: one hour at U9 to U11, ninety minutes at U12 to U16. If you write in, send what they ask for: position, date of birth, current club and a fixture list with kick-off times. That is how they decide whether to send a scout. Then wait. Weeks of silence after a first look is normal, and chasing does not help.

Category 1Premier LeagueU9 to U21

Does Nottingham Forest run academy trials?

Nigel Doughty Academy · West Bridgford, Nottingham · Checked 7 September 2026

NoTrial information

No open trials. Forest's route in is being seen by a scout, and the club's own community side says its Official Soccer Schools, run across Nottinghamshire for ages 6 to 12, are the sessions scouts watch most. A written approach with playing history and a fixture list is accepted, but the club is clear that scouts choose who to watch. Category 1 since 2021, based at the Nigel Doughty Academy in West Bridgford.

Got a trial or a scout’s invitation? How to prepare your child →

Practise decisions before the trial: free Look First game →

Category1, since 2021

First entryU9

Open trialsNone

BaseNigel Doughty Academy, West Bridgford

GirlsWSL 2 club, no academy yet

Recruitment and training programmes

How recruitment works

Scouted from soccer schools, grassroots clubs and school football; formal trial periods for U9 to B Team are coordinated centrally once a scout recommends a player.

01
Paid programmePaid, per session block
Nottingham Forest Official Soccer Schools
Community trust sessions across Nottinghamshire (West Bridgford, Kimberley, Stapleford and other venues) for boys and girls aged 6 to 12, all abilities welcome. Academy scouts are known to watch these regularly, and standout players can be flagged for a look at the development centres.
Official page ↗
02
Scouted
Scouted at grassroots across the East Midlands
Forest run a national and regional scouting network, including local Foundation and Youth Development Phase scouts and specialist national scouts from U14 upward. Trials for those flagged run through the Academy Recruitment Co-Ordinator, who manages the whole U9 to B Team trial process.

Got a trial invite?

What scouts watch, what to bring, what to ask. £19 ($25)

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What to bring to an academy trial

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Boots for the surface (grass = FG, firm ground; 3G or astro = AG, artificial grass), shin pads, a ball, a named water bottle and plain kit (no rival club shirts). Check the club’s trial email first.

Bootsadidas F50 Club kids bootsMost trials are on grass or 3G. These grip on both, so your child can turn and stop without slipping.See price on Amazon Shin padsMitre Aircell shin padsMost clubs will not let a child train without shin pads. The ankle sock keeps them in place.See price on Amazon BallMitre Impel footballA few touches before the session helps nerves. Size 4 for most 8–11s, size 5 from about 12.See price on Amazon

Which ball size? See our size guide.

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Where scouts watch

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Derbyshire and Leicestershire
Wider East Midlands and, from U14, national scouting by region
EPPP limit: 1 hour travel U9 to U11, 90 minutes U12 to U16

If a scout calls

Ask whether the contact is from the academy or the community trust. Both wear the badge. Only the academy registers players.
Check the travel rule from home to West Bridgford: one hour at U9 to U11, ninety minutes at U12 to U16.
If you write in, send what they ask for: position, date of birth, current club and a fixture list with kick-off times. That is how they decide whether to send a scout.
Then wait. Weeks of silence after a first look is normal, and chasing does not help.

Girls' Professional Game Academy, Category 2

Nottingham Forest girls academy trials 2026/27

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

Nottingham Forest is listed in the FA's Professional Game Academy directory. The FA also lists Nottingham Forest as an Emerging Talent Centre provider. A centre provides extra training alongside grassroots football. Girls' information checked 5 October 2026.

Club programme

Girls' academy contact

Use the FA's Professional Game Academy directory to contact this club. Ask which age groups it currently recruits and whether it is accepting trial enquiries. A directory listing does not mean trials are open.

Official page ↗

Club programmeFree

Girls' Emerging Talent Centre contact

The FA lists this club or its Foundation in its centre directory. Ask the listed contact about ages, assessments and available places. Centre attendance can run alongside grassroots football.

Official page ↗

Club page ↗

Watch out

What to check before you agree

Official Soccer Schools are paid coaching run by the community trust. Scouts do watch them, which is exactly why the sessions sell. Nothing is registered until the academy itself invites your child.

"Forest trials" sold by anyone other than the club or the trust are not Forest. The academy does not sell trials.

For girls, Forest Women play in WSL 2 but had no licensed academy as of April 2026. A girls' programme with the badge is a development centre until the club says otherwise.

Sources

Compare every club: football trials UK 2026, by club, age and region.

Updated 17 October 2026. Last verified 7 September 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us so we can check the page.

Nearby

Other nearby academies

Category 1

Leicester City

Seagrave, north Leicestershire · U9 to U21

No open trials

Read the club guide →

Category 1

Aston Villa

Bodymoor Heath, Warwickshire, and Perry Barr, Birmingham · U9 to U21

No open trials

Read the club guide →

Category 1

West Bromwich Albion

Halfords Lane, West Bromwich · U9 to U21

No open trials

Read the club guide →

How recruitment works

Got a trial invite?

What to bring to an academy trial

Nottingham Forest girls academy trials 2026/27

What to check before you agree

Other nearby academies

Leicester City

Aston Villa

West Bromwich Albion

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