During the 2023/24 campaign, 1,000 boys and girls represented West Ham United through the Foundation’s football development pathways.
Across a range of programmes engaging youngsters aged eight to 18, the West Ham United Foundation strives to create opportunities and support development for young people both on and off the pitch.
The Player Pathway programme, which takes a tiered approach to football development, has once again seen growth in participation, most encouragingly among female players.
Regardless of ability, players can represent the Hammers and find their level within the Player Pathway pyramid. Depending on their development stage, aspiring footballers are placed within one of the three tiers [four for girls]: Technical Development Centres (TDC), Emerging Talent Centres (ETC), Performance Squads and Female Youth Teams.
While young players in the two entry tiers train once a week and play showcase matches during the half-term holidays, those in the performance squads competed in the Junior Premier League (JPL) with high levels of success.
It was a season to remember for the Female Youth Teams, with all categories (U12s, U14s and U16s) winning their regional leagues, and the U12s and U14s also crowned JPL National champions. Their feats did not go unnoticed, with a handful of players featured in England’s long lists and three U16s trialling for West Ham United Women’s U21s.
On the boys’ side, links to the Academy have also been strengthened through a new pathway offering, Emerging Hammers, where players from the Performance Squads are invited to train with the boys at the Academy.
In addition to the Player Pathway, the Foundation also delivers the Post-16 Football & Education and Second Chance Academy programmes, providing teenagers with an opportunity to represent the WHU Foundation full-time while continuing their studies through BTEC and CTEC courses.
With classroom activities in the mornings, the squads train three times a week with matches on Wednesdays, working closely with Academy Integration staff in the hope of signing for an Academy.
A total of 160 players have been representing the Foundation in Beckton, South Essex, Bobby Moore Academy and Brentwood County High.
“Relaunching the Second Chance Academy programme is something I’m very passionate about,” said Bryan Glover, the Foundation's Director of Programmes. “Academy Manager Kenny Brown has been keeping close tabs on the players. It’s great to provide them with a platform to showcase their talent and reintroduce them to academy football with trials at different clubs.
“I’m delighted with the success we’ve seen on and off the pitch in both the boys’ and girls’ pathways. Our players have shown excellent progression, which has led to plenty of trophies and personal achievements. The dedication and hard work of both players and coaches has been exemplary.”
The last few months of the 2023/24 campaign saw the football development pathways trial out MT Sport’s Smart Timer technology across their programmes. Smart Timer’s smartphone app uses the camera to time athletes’ performance in sprint and dribbling drills, mimicking traditional beam gates.
“Every year we’re looking at different ways to improve our football development offering,” said Player Pathway Manager Derek Duncan. “The players have taken really well to the Smart Timer app, it really brings out their competitiveness. They’re constantly looking to improve their fastest times and it allows us as coaches to better monitor their progress, providing more in-depth analysis in their individual development plans.”
Looking ahead to next season, the WHU Foundation is excited to build on this year’s successes and continue to provide development opportunities for young footballers.
