Birmingham City's stance as academy audit fears emerge

Birmingham City are waiting to hear from the Professional Game Academy Audit Company before commenting on rumours surrounding their academy. It has been suggested over the last few days that Blues could lose the Category One status they were awarded last year.

The Athletic have made the claim, while The Telegraph cited "concerns over a lack of investment" following an audit on the provision at Wast Hills. BirminghamLive has contacted the club and have been told they are still awaiting the final report.

The Telegraph said Blues have failed the Premier League audit and could drop down to Category Two – but added the club are hopeful of avoiding that.

The PGAAC was established in 2018 by the Premier League, EFL and The FA to support the ongoing delivery of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) by providing independent quality assurance to all academies. They assess issues such as facilities, coaches and the day-to-day running of academies.

Blues’ academy has endured a roller-coaster few years, first in December 2020 when there were fears the set-up could close with a shift to a B and C team model. Days later the board did a U-turn, claiming any changes would only relate to the third and final stage of the EPPP.

Then last May it was confirmed they had achieved the highest Category One status, and in August that former first team and successful youth coach Paul Williams had been appointed as academy director.

Since then the Under 23s and U18s have competed at the highest level in youth football, with Steve Spooner’s development team adapting well to the step-up to Premier League 2 status.

Despite the first team struggles there has also been an established pathway into the senior set-up, with the likes of Jordan