THE FUTURE looks bright for the Sky Blues after the club’s Academy was named the tenth best in the country over the last six years.
Figures released by the FA show that Coventry City’s Academy ranked third out of all category two Academies, which placed it fifth across all 72 Football League clubs.
The Sky Blues have enjoyed unprecedented success over recent years after providing the club’s first-team with 30 debutants since the 2008/09 season and now fewer than 11 academy youngster played in the 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last season.
Previously, striker Callum Wilson progressed from the Academy and he is now playing in the Premier League with Bournemouth, while defender Cyrus Christie is now at Derby County and is a full Republic of Ireland international.
More recently James Maddison has made the breakthrough into the first team and earned a big money move to Premier League side Norwich City.
And earlier this month the academy showed they can mix it with the best after the club’s Under-18s almost pulled off a shock victory in the FA Youth Cup after taking Arsenal all the way to penalties.
“These are exciting times for the Academy and I couldn’t be more delighted to see everyone’s hard work paying off,” said City Academy manager Richard Stevens.
“Over recent years, there aren’t many Academies which can match our record of getting players into the first-team and we’re immensely proud of being able to give local, talented players a chance in the game.
“I’m a firm believer that all clubs should have local representation in their first-team to embody the passion of its City, and our club has certainly had that.
“As our recent performance in the FA Youth Cup showed, I’m in no doubt this Academy will continue to provide the first-team with local talent and the production line looks healthier than ever.
“Behind the scenes, we’re expending our operations and adding resources in the right areas which will help the development of footballing talent in Coventry.”
