Widnes to join NPL Academy

WIDNES FC have joined the Northern Premier League Football Academy [NPLFA] for the 2018/19 season.

Clubs are normally instructed to join the scheme 12 months in advance, but Widnes will begin in September after high demand.

A spokesperson for the NPLFA said: “Normally we recruit for a full year with new clubs.

“However we have an overflow of students from the area who wanted to take part in the programme.

“We feel with those numbers we can kick-start a new programme earlier than our normal procedure and the club are very enthusiastic and committed, having originally signed up to start in September 2019.

“Widnes has an excellent catchment area and we are confident they will have an excellent academy in place.”

Widnes are the 14th club to join the programme alongside local clubs like Warrington Town and Witton Albion.

Whites chairman Ian Ross added: “To get the chance to start a new programme this September is excellent news. The NPLFA programme has seen significant growth and we were delighted initially to have been chosen as one of the new clubs for 2019/20.

“We are now on the lookout to form our first group in just seven weeks – a tough task but we are excited to see if we can make that happen. It suits our club and, I imagine most clubs at our level with the resources we have, to have an organisation manage the whole process, dealing with all the requirements of setting up and maintaining such a programme.

“We provide our support along the way as we want to attract students to our club and develop a wider community involvement and hopefully potential first team players.”

There are a maximum of 20 places available for players aged 16 or 17 on August 31 2018, trials taking place every Monday and Wednesday in August from 12pm1.30pm. The trials are based at Prescot Soccer Centre and begin on Monday, July 30.