Academy FAQs

U9-U16 (Boys within Greater Manchester)
Within this region, we have a comprehensive network of scouts who cover U9–U16 games in all the various leagues at Town, County and District levels. We put great emphasis on these fixtures, and we believe that boys who may meet the standard required to enter our Academy should at least be involved with their Town team or be playing regularly in Junior football.

U9-U16 (Boys living outside Greater Manchester)
We have major problems accommodating schoolboys who live greater than 1½ hours from our training ground. We believe that young players should have a freedom to choose any club. We shall always seek mechanisms whereby any boy, wherever he lives, gets an opportunity to come to our club, provided one of our scouts recommends him. There are three cases:

1. A boy completing his U14 school year who is registered at an Academy or Centre of Excellence. Such boys are eligible to trial for clubs outside the 1½ hour time zone after the second Saturday in May of that year.
2. A boy completing his U14 school year who is not registered at an Academy or Centre of Excellence. Such boys are initially eligible for a trial at a club outside the 1½ hour time zone when they enter their U15 year. This has been arbitrarily set as 1 June in the U14 school year.
3. Boys younger than U14 and who live outside our time restricted zones are not eligible for a trial.

How can I get a Scholarship for Manchester United's Academy?
There are no Scholarship application forms. As explained above, before any boy comes to our Club he will have been assessed by one of our scouts. As such, we do not hold open trials. Scholarships are offered to young players based on their