Charlton Athletic F.C. Academy
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| Full name | Charlton Athletic Football Club Youth Academy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Addicks | ||
| Founded | 1998 | ||
| Ground | Sparrows Lane, New Eltham | ||
| Chairman |  Richard Murray | ||
| Manager | Steve Gritt | ||
| League | Premier Academy League Group A | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier Academy League Group A, 8th | ||
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Charlton Athletic Football Club Youth Academy are the youth team of Charlton Athletic. Their Under-18 team play in the highest level of youth football in England, the FA Premier Academy League, however the academy takes boys from the ages of 9 upwards.
The U18 team also has strong conetations with the Charlton Reserves squad, where senior members of the team may make appearances. The academy is run by Steve Gritt[1] who is also U18 Youth Coach after Damian Matthew moved up to become Interim Reserve-team manager after first-team manager Alan Pardew parted company with the club.[2]
History
The Charlton Athletic Youth Academy was a development of Charlton's commitment to develop young players, a scheme which started in the early 1990s when there was an explosion of young talent under joint managers Steve Gritt & Alan Curbishley, the later now Charlton's current Academy manager. Notable players such as Anthony Barness, Lee Bowyer, Richard Rufus & Kevin Lisbie all came through the ranks.
This was followed by the creation of the Youth Academy, aiming to find the best local, and worldwide talent to bring to Charlton at a young age. There are many top flight English players who began their footballing career at the Charlton Youth Academy, including West Ham's Scott Parker & Fulham's Paul Konchesky, as well as current Charlton first team players Jonjo Shelvey, Grant Basey, Lloyd Sam & Jonathan Fortune.[3] In the last two years several other former youth team players have gone on to make their Charlton debuts, midfielders Josh Wright, Scott Wagstaff, Harry Arter and Rashid Yussuff, right back Chris Solly, striker Tamer Tuna, goalkeepers Darren Randolph and Robert Elliot. Under 18 full back Jack Clark also made the substitutes bench for the first time, as did defender Aswad Thomas during the 2007/08 season.
Valley Gold
The Valley Gold scheme was previously set up to aid Charlton's return to The Valley. When a supporter signs up to the scheme, they now have the opportunity to win up to £15,000 at half-time on home match days, as well as getting £15 off the price of their season ticket and the opportunity to have first priority to away games or high demand home matches.
Since Charlton's return to the Valley in December 1992 the scheme has since used to give financial support to the Charlton Youth Academy, to help nurture Charlton stars of the future.[4]
Honours
| Competition | Achievement | Year |
|---|---|---|
| FA Youth Cup | Finalists | 1987 |
Players
- As of 11 August 2008.[5]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Footnotes
- ^ Steve Gritt's Coaching Profile
- ^ "Gritt relishing cup clash". cafc.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ Charlton Athletic Youth Academy
- ^ Charlton Athletic Valley Gold
- ^ "Charlton Athletic Academy Playing Squad". CAFC.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
External links
- Charlton Athletic Official Website
- Charlton Athletic Youth Academy Webpage
- Charlton Athletic Valley Gold Webpage
- Charlton Academy Squad Profiles