Swansea City: Championship club downgrade academy status
- Published
Swansea's academy is based at their training facility at Fairwood
Swansea City have downgraded the status of the club's academy as part of cost-cutting at the Championship club.
The Swans have seen several key players develop in their youth system after moving to the elite-level category one status in 2016.
Ex-Swansea chairman Trevor Birch, who left the club this week to join Tottenham Hotspur, had said the academy would be protected until at least 2021.
The financial impact of Covid-19 sees the club move to category two status.
The move will see Swansea's youth sides drop out of Premier League 2 and into the Professional Development League.
It will also mean Swansea will be limited to a catchment area of where they can recruit new young talent from.
With costs to run the academy at the top level estimated to be between £3m and £5m, the Welsh club have been unable to avoid making the cuts.
Swansea had already needed to make savings following relegation from the Premier League before the financial hit of the coronavirus pandemic.
Wales internationals Connor Roberts, Joe Rodon and recent call-up Ben Cabango as well as Manchester United's Daniel James were all products of Swansea's investment into their academy during their successful time in the Premier League.