Any boy coming to our club for a trial will have been assessed and recommended by one of our Academy Scouts, as we do not hold open trials.
We have a network of Regional and National Scouts who monitor young players playing for their Town or District team, local boys club or school.
It is through watching these games that our scouts become aware of boys with outstanding potential.
Generally our scouts do not announce their presence at games as we believe that if players know a scout is present it can affect their performance.
Through our network of scouts, we receive regular reports on players, bringing in boys with potential to our club for trials and assessment.
Players writing in for a trial should always include a fixture list for their current team, along with personal information such as date of birth, position, approx height/weight and previous clubs played for. Any representative honours such as schools, district, county etc. should be included. This information should be emailed to drew.beardsley@nufc.co.uk or write to NUFC Academy, Little Benton, Off Greenlee Drive, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7SF.
Please remember we get hundreds of trial requests each week and we cannot watch everyone.The higher the level you play at, the more priority we will give your request.
Academy Regulations
Boys U9 - U11 are allowed to be registered at an Academy provided they live within one hour travelling distance.For boys in the U12 - U16 age categories the travelling time to training/coaching is extended to 1 ½ hours.
Under 9 to Under 13 players who live outside our time/distance restricted zones are not eligible for a trial.
There are stringent Rules and Regulations set by the Premier League for trials for boys born outside England. In summary, they are:
(1)The earliest time a boy can attend an Academy for assessment is at the start of his under 14 season. We are obliged to include restrictions on suitability - that a boy can only trial if he is recommended by one of our scouts or contacts. If he is deemed suitable for assessment he still cannot register for an Academy unless he resides within 1½ hour of its base - even then the boy must not be moving into the area for that purpose i.e. it can only be for family and not football reasons e.g. maybe the parent(s) moves jobs / positions to enhance his/her career.
(2)If the boy is an EU/EEA citizen then he can sign as a Scholar aged 16, not before.
(3)If the boy is not an EU/EEA citizen then the earliest he can sign is aged 18 and even then it is dependent upon eligibility for a Work Permit.
Our scouts attend international youth tournaments throughout Europe. In this way we see players that may be of a suitable standard to join our Academy.
Remember ... There is no easy route to becoming a footballer.It is important that you develop skill and play and train with enthusiasm at the highest level you can.
GOOD LUCK.
