After many months of hard work by a number of people, investigating options, alternatives and implications, we are pleased to announce an exciting new direction for the Sutton United Academy.
In order to build on our success and grow our academy to accommodate significantly more pupils we have decided to bring the management of the academy in-house. After reviewing the marketplace and undertaking lengthy investigations we are delighted to confirm a brand new partnership with VLUK as our education provider. As a consequence we have parted company with the Knights Sports Group and, of course, thank them for their efforts and contribution over the last two seasons. VLUK are a well-respected and experienced presence in this market, working across a number of sports and with many football clubs and academies including Stevenage, Tranmere Rovers, Eastleigh and many more.
We are pleased to confirm that Marvin Williams will be our Academy Director, supported by Ricky Wellard as Head of Football. Tom Kavanagh, another former U's player who himself came up through our youth team, will also be part of the coaching team.
We would also like to thank Marvin, Bobby Childs, Phil Letts and Dominic Feltham for undertaking the extensive research and due diligence necessary to put our new plans in place.
“I am really excited by this new opportunity”, said Marvin. “We were delighted that three of our boys were awarded contracts and made their first team league debuts last season, reinforcing that we do offer a genuine pathway into professional football. With more pupils we should increase our chances of more boys making that step up.”
Company Chairman Dave Farebrother commented “I'd like to congratulate everyone who has made this new venture possible. This new structure will play an important part in the development of the club and helping to ensure we remain competitive in the National League.”
Mike Morris, Partnership Director VLUK added “We are delighted to welcome Sutton United as a new partner. Discussions have been held over several months and it was clear that the club's strong approach to quality education in providing the correct pathways not only into football but also university matched our own. This has now resulted in our new collaboration which we hope will be a long and successful one for both parties, but most importantly for all students and their futures.”