Reading F.C. Under-21s and Academy
| Full name | Reading Football Club Under-21s & Academy |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Royals |
| Ground |
Madejski Stadium, Adams Park, Hogwood Park |
| Chairman | Sir John Madejski |
| Manager | Lee Herron (Academy), Martin Kuhl (Under-23s) |
| League | Professional Development League 1 |
| 2013–14 | U21s – 17th, U18s – 3rd (South Division) |
Reading F.C. Under-21s and Academy are the development teams of Reading Football Club. Following the restructuring of reserve and youth team football in 2012, Reading compete in the Professional Development League 1 and enter teams in both the under-21 and under-18 competitions.
Under the old youth training scheme, the club produced a number of first team players including Ady Williams, Scott Taylor and future England international Neil Webb. Since the Academy opened in 1999, 34 graduates have gone on to play first team football for Reading including Gylfi Sigurðsson, who was later sold for a club record transfer fee.
Reading were granted Academy status by the Football Association in February 1999. The first Academy manager was John Stephenson who oversaw the club's youth development until October 2000 when he left to join Preston North End. He was succeeded by former Reading goalkeeper, and the then goalkeeping coach, Nick Hammond. After his appointment as Reading's first Director of football in September 2003, Hammond combined all three roles until the appointment of Exeter City boss Eamonn Dolan as the new Academy manager in October 2004, a position he still holds. The club originally trained in rented facilities at Sonning Lane and Bradfield College but moved to their own training ground at Hogwood Park in Arborfield in 2004. A two-year Academy partnership with Boreham Wood was announced in July 2012 with the club also aiming to have a first-team composed of 50% Academy players. The introduction in 2012 of the four-tier academy system under the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) forced the club to search for a new training ground in order to meet the criteria for Category One status. With this in mind, the club agreed in principle to buy land at Bearwood Lakes Golf Club for a new training facility at a cost of between £10 million and £20 million in May 2013. In July 2013, the club confirmed they had achieved Category One status.
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