Does Southampton run academy trials?
Staplewood Campus · Marchwood, Hampshire
No open trials, and the widest net in the south. Southampton runs development centres well beyond Hampshire, including Bristol and Bath, and its own scholarship announcements show the route: scouted at a development centre at six or seven, signed at nine, scholar at sixteen. The academy accepts a playing CV with a fixture list by email and may send a scout, though it cannot reply to everyone. Trial periods run by invitation only.
4 ways players actually get in.
Invitation after scouting, then a trial period with the age group.
- 01Scouted at a Saints development centre
Community development centres in Southampton, Bristol, Bath and elsewhere. The club's own 2023 scholarship intake included players scouted at the Bristol centre at seven and the Bath centre at six, then signed at nine.
Official page ↗ - 02Scouted at grassroots across the south
A large scouting operation covering Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and into the South West. Invitation follows repeated observation.
- 03Send a playing CV with a fixture list
The academy accepts CVs by email with position, date of birth, current and previous clubs, representative honours, school, and a fixture list with venues and kick-off times. It receives thousands and does not reply, but may send a scout.
- 04Trial period by invitation
Invited players train with the age group for a set period before a registration decision. Under Category 1 rules Southampton can register players from further away at U14 and up if full-time education is provided, which is why it uses host families.
- Southampton and Hampshire
- Dorset, Wiltshire
- Bristol and Bath
- EPPP limit: 1 hour travel U9 to U11, 90 minutes U12 to U16, national from U14 with full-time education
- Ask whether it is a development centre place or an academy trial. Southampton development centres are community programmes.
- Check travel to Marchwood. One hour at U9 to U11, ninety minutes at U12 to U16.
- If your child is 14 or older and far away, ask about the full-time education model and host families before anything else. It is a family decision, not a football one.
- Send the fixture list with any CV. Without it nothing happens.
Three things parents get sold.
- Southampton FC, 15 youngsters sign Academy scholarships, Jul 2023 ↗
- Southampton FC, Player Development Camp (commercial) ↗
- Premier League Youth Development Rules (travel limits, registration) ↗
Last verified 5 September 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will re-check within a week.