Coventry City’s Academy has been ranked among the top Academies in the country!
The EFL have published data on the ‘productivity’ of each Club in England, ranking Clubs on how many young players they see through their Academy and Development structure reaching first-team football, and the Sky Blues have come out on top amongst all EFL clubs based on the last 6 seasons.
The data looks back over 12, 9, 6 and 3 seasons, and credit is given for players appearing for the first-team of each Club, plus those playing elsewhere too. The Sky Blues are rated against all EFL and Premier League Clubs (92), then all EFL Clubs (72) and finally Clubs that are, like City, Category 2 in the Academy Structure.
Over the last 6 seasons, the Sky Blues have been ranked 9th out of the 92 clubs, 1st in the EFL and 1st among all Category 2 clubs. Meanwhile the 3 season, 9 season and 12 season comparison all show City’s Academy, which is based at the Alan Higgs Centre, to be amongst the best in England.
Academy graduates have regularly featured in the Sky Blues squad in recent years, with players such as Jordan Shipley, Jordan Willis, Lee Burge and Tom Bayliss. Going further back, Academy graduates including Jordan Clarke, Jermaine Grandison, Nathan Cameron and Josh Ruffels have played for City and then gone on to enjoy careers elsewhere in the EFL.
James Maddison and Callum Wilson are now both regulars in the England squad – while that is not accounted for in these figures, their progress to the Premier League does count.
You can see the Sky Blues data below:
12 Season Comparison (08/09 to 19/20)
PL and EFL: 17th out of 92
EFL: 6th out of 72
Category 2: 4th
9 Season Comparison (11/12 to 19/20)
PL and EFL: 16th out of 92
EFL: 8th out of 72
Category 2: 6th
6 Season Comparison (14/15 to 19/20)
PL and EFL: 9th out of 92
EFL: 1st out of 72
Category 2: 1st
3 Season Comparison (17/18 to 19/20)
PL and EFL: 21st out of 92
EFL: 13th out of 72
Category 2: 6th
Academy Manager Dan Bolas said:
“It is excellent that our Academy has ranked so highly in these figures, especially being the top Academy in the EFL for the 6-season comparison.
“That is testament to the hard work of the players involved, their families and the staff at Academy over a number of years, as well as the opportunities available in the EFL for young players to make appearances.
“At the Academy, we will continue to work hard to create the environment and structure for young players to develop and progress.”
Chief Executive Dave Boddy added: “These are again excellent figures for our Academy, and everyone involved in the Academy, past and present, should be very proud of this achievement.
“It emphasises again that there is an established pathway to professional football, and that our Academy has experience in nurturing talent to that end goal. We are all very proud of that record and of our Academy, as we know that Sky Blues fans are too.”