Football Academy FAQ’s
What is a Football Academy?
A football academy is part of the football club set up to develop footballing talent. Its most easily thought of as a training school. A place where kids and youth learn their craft, in this case football. Every football club in the premier league and Championship has a football academy, and many more lower league clubs also have them, but not all. KFC/Karambi Football Club have academy registered in FUFA / UYFA(Uganda Youth Football Association) and for those how have knowledge about football clubs in Uganda have already discovered that most football clubs are unlikely to have a football academy, but will find development schemes or community run projects, that kids and young footballers can enroll onto. They schemes are great first stops in the footballing ladder and can be easily be booked onto before joining a bigger academy. Likely for KFC that also run academy can use one of two different names, but still a football club. KFC can either be called a Football Academy, or a Football Centre of Excellence, but essentially they are the same thing. A place where the club can develop young talent.
What age do you have to be to attend an Academy?
The minimum age for any child to join a football academy is 6 years old. To get around this KFC have already create KFC Street Soccer and set of development programs which cater for younger kids and youth. These are less pressured and more focused on fun learning and play, but of course are full of the right skills that a kid needs to develop in order to play for KFC/Karambi Football Academy when they are good and old enough.
What happens once a kid is signed to KFC/Karambi Football academy?
KFC/ Karambi football club ask players between the ages of 6 and 16 to sign KFC forms, which are renewed every 1-2 years, depending on the player’s progress and abilities. At 16, the football will make a final decision on whether to offer the player a place on KFC youth training scheme. This is an exciting beginning for a potential KFC professional footballer. The youth training scheme is much harder to get onto than Karambi Football Academy as it involves a lot of investment, and places are limited. Each KFC youth training scheme lasts between 1-3 years with the aim of developing the player from KFC Academy youth team to becoming a reserve player for KFC. In between the stage of being good enough to play for KFCs reserve team and playing for KFC first team, a bridging squad called the under 21’s is run. This gives players a chance to still play competitive football against other clubs before they are ready for KFCs first team.
It helps them to gain more professional experience before becoming a professional. However, the norm is for players to wait until they are 19 years old until the football will choose to offer them a professional KFC/Karambi footballers contract.
How much training do Karambi Football Academy endure?
Karambi football academy will vary in the training, and commitment that the player is required to put in, but in general, Karambi Football academy will run the following activity:
• Karambi Football Academy players are given all-round assistance from the KFC/Karambi Football Clubs staff
• Players are given practical homework.
• Players are trained specifically on agility
• KFC communicate directly with the kids and youth with request that they also participate in other sports to work other muscles
How Karambi Football Academy develop players
KFC/Karambi Football Club develop their players by entering them into youth tournaments and playing in leagues against others their own age, committed to each individuals development, team play, coaching and training.
They will be working on:
• Development of individual technique
• Football skills based on good system
• Strategies tactics and technique
• Specialist training methods for outfield players
• Specialist training for goalkeepers
What happens if a young player is released from Karambi Football Academy?
A majority of football young players do not make the move from academy to professional KFC team as competition is so tough. When a young player is released from Karambi Football Academy contract, they are added into a list which other football clubs can all access. Players on this list can be approached by any club and asked to join them.
karambi Football Club 