11/09/2026
DP FOOTBALL ACADEMY… SUPPORT MATTERS 💛
SUPPORTING THE PLAYER • SUPPORTING THE FAMILY • PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
DP Football Academy is proud to help young players progress into professional academy environments.
But our responsibility shouldn’t simply end when a player signs for a professional club.
And if a young player is released, the question should never just be:
“What happens now?”
We want them and their family to already know that there is support, guidance and another pathway available.
That is why we are developing DP Football Academy ‘Support Matters,’ a dedicated programme designed to support young players and their families before, during and after academy football.
⚽ SUPPORT WHILE IN A PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY
We want to build strong, professional relationships with football clubs and academies so that, where appropriate and with the right permissions, we can communicate and work together to support the player.
We want to understand how the player is progressing, what support they may need and what their longer-term ambitions are.
DP will be available for individual meetings with players and parents to talk about their journey, development and future.
🔄 SUPPORT AFTER ACADEMY RELEASE
Being released by a professional academy can be a major change for a young player and their family.
DP wants to be there when that happens.
Where appropriate, we want to use our relationships within football to help players identify their next opportunity.
That could mean another academy environment, continuing their development at DP, scholarship opportunities, education, coaching pathways or another suitable level of football.
Most importantly, there will be somewhere to come back to, sit down and talk about what happens next.
📋 EVERY PLAYER NEEDS A PLAN B
We want to start having conversations with academy players about their future.
What is your dream?
What is your current plan?
If professional football doesn’t happen, what is your Plan B?
And if you don’t have a Plan B yet, let’s build one together.
That could involve education, scholarships, qualifications, coaching, strength & conditioning, analysis, refereeing or other careers within and outside football.
We don’t want young players reaching the end of their academy journey without having thought about what comes next.
🎓 COACHING & FOOTBALL CAREERS
For players interested in staying within football, DP wants to help create genuine pathways.
If coaching is something a player wants to pursue, we can help them understand the qualifications and experience they need and look for opportunities to start developing as a young coach.
Football has many different careers. Playing professionally is one pathway, it isn’t the only pathway.
❤️ FAMILY SUPPORT
Academy football affects the whole family.
Parents can have questions and concerns about development, academy decisions, education and what happens if their child is released.
Our door will be open to parents too.
Families will be able to request private meetings with DP to discuss their child’s pathway and the support available.
Where something requires specialist or professional support beyond football, our role will be to help families identify the appropriate support rather than expecting them to work everything out alone.
🤝 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROFESSIONAL CLUBS
The long-term aim is to develop strong relationships with professional academies so DP can become part of a positive support network around young players.
We want clubs, players and parents to know that DP isn’t trying to interfere with academy programmes.
We want to support them.
When one of our players signs for an academy, we remain proud of them.
If things don’t work out, we still remain proud of them.
Our support shouldn’t disappear because their football circumstances change.
This is about looking beyond the next match, the next trial or the next contract.
It’s about helping young people prepare for football, education, careers and life beyond the academy system.
For more information please contact us on 07787 406418
DP … Stronger Together 🫶🏻
