Statement from Academy Director, Charlie Croydon:
At the very start of the 2023/24 season, and after a few tough years, our Men's Football Academy suffered several huge setbacks. Our long-standing Director, Martyn Spong, retired, several long-serving coaches also moved on and, to top it off, our clubhouse, storage facility and ultimately our training ground burned down.
For many years, we were fortunate enough to use Hampton Wick Cricket Club as our training ground before the clubhouse was tragically destroyed by fire. This left us with no equipment, no kits and no training facility at the very beginning of a new season and academic year.
In the three seasons since, we have completely rebuilt and restructured the way we recruit, train and play. That work has culminated in us now accommodating 60 footballers, all of whom attend the College for their studies.
Within that time, we have had two players sign for the first team at Bedfont Sports, multiple players go on to play U18 Isthmian League football within our U18s at Bedfont Sports, as well as at other clubs, several others go on to play Combined Counties U18s, and a handful who are now playing U23 and senior football at step 5/6.
None of the above would have been possible without the continued backing and stability from Terry Reader and the team at Bedfont Sports, as well as the support we received early on after the fire from David Newland and the team at Goals Tolworth, who took us in and provided us with a training facility.
These partnerships have gone from strength to strength, with us now training and playing on the new 4G pitch three days per week, whilst continuing to play our competitive games at the ever-impressive Bedfont Sports stadium.
We are pleased with the growth and position we are now in, but we are only just getting started. Bedfont Sports continue to develop the ground, making it an even more professional environment for our players to compete, whilst Goals Tolworth continue to provide us with a fantastic new training facility to help us develop our players.
As always, we are committed to providing a top-level football and education experience for every player in our Academy.
The next chapter of the Academy is already underway.
If you are interested in becoming part of it, our first trial for the 2027/28 season will take place on Wednesday 28 October (half-term). Register your interest and book your place at the trial using the link below:
