Nottingham Forest have been granted conditional Category 1 status for their academy for next season.
The Reds announced they had submitted an application for Category 1 status last year when Gary Brazil signed a new long-term contract with the club and took on the role of director of football development.
Category 1 is the highest classification for academies in England, with Forest joining the likes of top-flight giants Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool in that bracket.
Chairman Nicholas Randall spoke earlier this year about the club’s commitment to investing in the Nigel Doughty Academy. And he has hailed the conditional licence as an “important milestone”, as well as being testament to the support of owner Evangelos Marinakis.
“This is a very important development for the long-term future of the club,” he told the club website.
“The academy is fundamental to the footballing strategy of the club and is a priority for the board.
“To see the likes of Joe Worrall, Ryan Yates and Alex Mighten playing regularly in the first team demonstrates the success of our Academy. Category 1 status is the next step in developing more elite footballers.
“The club is extremely grateful to Mr Marinakis for his continued financial investments in the infrastructure of the club. It is the owner’s personal commitment to such strategic initiatives that has made this possible.
“This milestone is also a testament to the tireless work of Gary Brazil and the outstanding efforts of Chris McGuane, Andy Reid and many others.”
Forest have a proud tradition of bringing young talent through the ranks, and the Under-23s and Under-18s will enter the elite academy games programme for next season, including Premier League 2 and cup competitions.
The licence has initially been granted on a one-year conditional basis with a five-day standards audit to follow in the forthcoming season.
It comes as the Reds are set to make changes off the pitch this summer, with Brazil confirming the arrival of Chris Brass to the recruitment set-up.
“I am thrilled that we have achieved Category 1 status for next season,” said Brazil.
“The current and future investments in facilities by Mr Marinakis will take us to another level. It is a fantastic opportunity for the club and it will be really exciting for the staff and players to challenge themselves at the elite end of academy football.
“The benefits include playing better quality teams in the games programme and access to youth grant funding.
“It will also help us to keep providing elite talent for our first team and ensure we provide opportunities for players in and around Nottinghamshire to become professional footballers.
“We have established a strong recruitment staff and this will be another string to the bow of Chris Brass and his team to continue to attract and retain the very best talent.
“I would like to thank all the academy staff, especially Chris McGuane, for their work in securing the licence. It has been an extremely rigorous process so far and has been a joint effort across the club from the owner, the board and all the staff.”
Under-23s head coach Reid tweeted: “This is huge for us, so many people people have worked so hard for this! The hard work continues. So proud to be part of this amazing Academy!”
