THE NPL Football Academy are hoping Yohan Rutty-Smith’s move from Romulus into the Football League with Notts County is a sign of more great things to come.
The brainchild of long-time former Radcliffe Borough boss Kevin Glendon, the academy runs in conjunction with the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League and combined football and further education for 16-18 year olds.
The academy, sanctioned by the Football Association, has only been running for five months but got its first youngster graduating into the professional game last week.
Rutty-Smith, 16, has signed a two-year deal with League One side County after making his Roms debut back in November.
The academy’s Tom Glendon said: “We’re very proud and delighted for Yohan and we didn’t expect a player to move into the Football League so soon after starting the academy.
“The main aim was for the lads to progress into the first teams of the clubs they were at but obviously moving into the professional game is a huge bonus.
“We’ve been getting a lot of great feedback not only from the youngsters involved but from the clubs and people outside looking in. Yohan moving on can only help that.
“Instead of going to their local college, they’re going to their local football club. It’s opening up the youngsters’ eyes to different careers in football, whether that be playing or something else.”
More clubs are set to join the academy league for next season after a successful pilot year caught the eye.
The only semi-professional academy league in the country, Denton says their aim to fill the gap for children leaving school and ensure they continue to play football while forging out a potential career in the sport.
“The academy has been two years in the making and this year was just a pilot to see how it went,” Glendon added.
“We’ve had five teams for this year and we’ve already got ten confirmed for next season. We’re hoping we can add another two or four but we have to do the due diligence to make sure the facilities are right.
“One of the main things we want to provide is a good educational package to the lads. This is the first semi-professional academy league in the country.
“There seems to be a gap from the age of 16-21 after lads have left junior football. There’s nowhere for them to go so not only can they come and play football with us, but also progress their education too.”
