Reports from Old Trafford have stated that the Manchester United Academy is to be assessed in the hope of gaining ‘category one’ status. The company that is to be assessing the academy, now being run by former United player Nicky Butt, is that of Belgian-based Double PASS. More information on the company, the clubs they have worked with, and their mission statement can be found here.
Manchester United Academy To Be Assessed
The company Double PASS is headed by the CEO and Founder, Hugo Schoukens, who has an MBA in Sports Management, a UEFA ‘A’ License, and is a former employee of Anderlecht and the Royal Belgium Football Association. To say that Schoukens is qualified to assess academies would be a drastic understatement, as he is one of the world leaders in his industry. His team is filled with professors of sport, doctoral candidates, and even a member who received a masters from the Cruyff Institute.
Double PASS, as stated on its website, has been working with the Premier League since 2011, and also assesses all 92 professional clubs which play in the top four flights of English football. It works with the Belgian FA, the Bundesliga, the Hungarian Football Federation, the German Football Association, the European Club Association, and the Football Federation Flanders.
The grading of an academy goes from category one to category four, with category one being the ultimate level a footballing academy can reach. The benefit that would come from achieving category one would mean more money from the Premier League and English FA to develop young talent. This is something that would be an invaluable ‘win’, both in the fact that the club has a rich history as an academy, as well as being able to produce even more great youth players.
Manchester United’s academy is already world-renowned, and getting category one status would be an incredible achievement.
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