The supporters trust that has finally taken over Wycombe Wanderers Football Club have announced they will close the youth academy, with immediate effect. This will save the trust £300,000 per year in running costs. All players not offered a professional contract will receive help in finding a new club or assistance in a new career path. With the launch or the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), this year it was thought there would be more funds available for clubs to continue to support their own academies. The trust has suggested this will only be a temporary closure. News of the closure was emailed out to academy players last night. Surprisingly, i received this email, even though my 15 year old son was never in their academy. What is even more surprising is the fact he gave up football aged 10, to continue playing rugby. Lets hope the trust have better luck running the football club, than they do running their email systems. We do wonder though how many more clubs will go down the route of:-
Being owned by the supporters via a Supporters Trust Fund
Ending their youth academy system to save hundreds of thousands of pounds.
