It is a cliché to say that the future belongs to young people, but it is especially true for the development of the sports club. Competition between clubs has always existed, and the building of young talents has become strategically important. Of course, there is a nostalgic element to see how a young talent develops through an academy and reaches the top of the professional level. If we ask the fans, they will tell you that they feel great pride and pleasure to see their team is performing well based around a nucleus of homegrown talent. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether fit exist between different market(s) competitive criteria, operating strategies and service delivery system(s) of the strategic business unit, in the face of the football academy, and the overall strategy of the professional football club. It is logical for the academy to have an increasing impact on the performance and the future of the club. But is it so for the English clubs? The main scope of the study will focus on Fulham FC and Chelsea FC, their junior academies and compare them to the European counterparts.
I have extensive experience from professional sports athlete to working for professional organisations such as Kingston University Library, BRG Building Solutions, Skwile Ltd, Alona Market Research to various for profit and non-profit sports clubs and organisations, where I had the opportunity to work and manage different stakeholders from children to adults blending together my winning attitude and diplomacy, while focusing on achieving high results.