Clarets’ Academy given new seal of approval   

Burnley’s academy is set for a massive boost after being granted Category Two status by the Premier League under the Elite Player Performance Plan.

The new grading will kick in ahead of the 2017/18 season following The Claret’s heavy investment in its Academy set-up, with a large part of the new £10.5m Barnfield Training Centre at Gawthorpe dedicated to the provision of development and youth football.

Academy Manager Jonathan Pepper said: “It’s massive. If we didn’t get the nod, for us to remain as Category 3 just wasn’t a viable option and couldn’t be a viable option with the money the club has spent on the infrastructure. It’s where we need to be.

“It’s a massive organisational project for the club. To get Category 2 is vitally important.”

The upgrade will see the club’s under-23s, under-18s and under-16s all feature in new leagues in the Professional Development League system, with the aim of facilitating the pathway from the development squad to first-team football.

And the lower age groups will be able to play on Sundays against clubs from Categories One and Two – including all of the north-west’s major Premier League sides – which will raise the standard of opposition and boost player recruitment.

(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Pepper added: “That will be a really good programme, so that a boy at Manchester United isn’t getting anything different from a boy at Burnley in terms of their games’ programme.”

“Facilities will be very similar and the level of staff support will be very similar as well.

“So hopefully, the experience of a boy coming to Burnley will be very similar to one at a similar level Premier League club.”