Academy rewarded with new licence under the EPPP

NORWICH City are pleased to confirm that the Club’s Academy has retained its Category One status for the next three seasons.The news means that the Club’s Under-21, Under-18 and Under-16 teams will once again lock horns with other elite Academies on the pitch, while the infrastructure in place at Colney Training Centre is judged to be at the forefront of innovation with industry-leading coaching, recruitment, education and sport science.City were first granted Category One status in 2012 following the implementation of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), a long-term strategy designed to take youth development in this country to the next level.The fresh three-year licence has been awarded to the Canaries after a stringent six-month independent audit process, with enhanced criteria met by the Club to earn the renewal.Interim Chief Executive Steve Stone said: “I am extremely pleased that the Club’s Academy has retained its Category One status for the next three seasons. I am well aware of the additional commitment that the Academy staff have put in during the audit process, to ensure this retention.“Of course the ultimate focus is always on the objective of producing homegrown players to play in the Norwich City first team, and the hard work put in to retain Category One status is therefore very important.”Academy Manager Gregg Broughton added: “Last season was a big test for all of our staff, and they did a tremendous job in preparing for the audit and making sure that we got across the line.“It’s been three years of hard work though, because you have to make sure that the Academy is being run to the standards required at Category One level, and that’s firmly tested as you go into the last year of the process.“The audit’s final report highlighted several key strengths of our Academy.“It also pointed to our ability to play Under-21s games at Carrow Road on a consistent basis in front of large crowds, so the fans themselves have to take some credit for that for turning out in the numbers that they do and hopefully they’ll continue to do that this coming season.”