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Category 1Premier LeagueU9 to U21

Does Nottingham Forest run academy trials?

Nigel Doughty Academy · West Bridgford, Nottingham

NoStraight answer

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.

Category1, since 2021
First entryU9
Open trialsNone
BaseNigel Doughty Academy, West Bridgford
GirlsWSL 2 club, no academy yet
The real routes in

2 ways players actually get in.

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.

  1. 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 ↗
  2. 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.

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
  1. Ask whether the contact is from the academy or the community trust. Both wear the badge. Only the academy registers players.
  2. Check the travel rule from home to West Bridgford: one hour at U9 to U11, ninety minutes at U12 to U16.
  3. 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.
  4. Then wait. Weeks of silence after a first look is normal, and chasing does not help.
Girls

WSL 2 club, no academy yet.

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

Forest Women play in WSL 2 and field a U21 side in the PGA Northern Division, but the BBC reported in April 2026 that the club was not yet operating a licensed academy. Ask what is registered this season.

Watch out

Three things parents get sold.

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

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

Nearby

Other academies in reach.

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Leicester City

Seagrave, north Leicestershire · U9 to U21

No open trials · 3 real routes in

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Aston Villa

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

No open trials · 4 real routes in

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West Bromwich Albion

Halfords Lane, West Bromwich · U9 to U21

No open trials · 4 real routes in

See the pathway →
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