Here at Luton Town FC we have a number of regular football sessions aimed at young footballers which make up our Boys’ Player Pathway.

The first level of the pathway is our holiday soccer schools, after school clubs and weekly soccer schools, where the emphasis is on boys of all abilities aged five to 12 taking part in fun sessions, providing an excellent introduction to football and a brilliant setting in which to develop new skills and make new friends.

Any boys who show particular promise can then be signposted to one of our Skills Performance Centres (SPC’s) which are open to all boys of all abilities. Aimed at boys aged 7 to 16, these take place at venues across Luton and Bedfordshire. Players attending SPC sessions receive advanced training aimed at further developing their skills and boys who show the right levels of ability and attitude are signposted to our next level at our Centre of Excellence and Player Development Centres. SPC’s offer fixed weekly programmes with a trial match at the end for assessing boys’ potential to progress. All boys also receive termly reports charting progress

The next level on the Boys’ Player Pathway is the Centre of Excellence (COFEX) and Player Development Centres (PDC). These are aimed at players up to under-16 age groups and sessions take place at venues in Luton, Dunstable, Kempston and Arlesey.  COFEX/PDC’s aim to bring together the best regional players into an environment that challenges boys and helps further develop their skills. With a smaller player to coach ratio, and using the Luton Town FC academy philosophy, our advanced training centres create a high-performance environment where boys can develop over the medium to longer term. Training takes place once a week with a residential trip and overseas tour throughout the season. Games against other professional Club Development Centres take place in school holidays allowing boys to remain with their local club.

The fourth and final tier of the Luton Town FC player pathway is the Pre-Academy, which sits directly below the Club’s schoolboy academy structure. Boys progressing here from COFEX/SPC’s train twice a week in Luton and our coaching staff constantly assess boys who may be suitable for progression to the academy. Games against other professional Club Development Centres take place in school holidays allowing boys to remain with their local club and all boys tour overseas at Easter.

For more information on our Boys’ Talent Identification Player Pathway call 01582 561 662 or email [email protected]uk