Institute FC U16 NIFL Squad 2021/22

Next season will be our second year of inviting players from the local area to form our U16 NIFL squad.  We wrote to our local clubs last year to lay out our plan moving forward and have been delighted with the players those clubs put forward for selection alongside players we had previously identified. In an ideal world we would be well along the pathway to identifying potential players for the 2021/22 season but of course there have barely been any games since summer.  

Hopefully as this changes in January we will be able to watch the local players once more and liaise with existing clubs and coaches about players making that step. As part of this process we also plan to promote some of our existing U15(2006) players to this squad. 

We believe that being able to pursue a well-designed developmental pathway to first team football is, or should be, an option for any local player with the aspirations and ability to play at a higher level. As a senior club, Institute are in a unique position to offer this professional development pathway for players from U16 up.  Our U16 squad will compete in the NIFL Academy League, the highest level of football in Northern Ireland, and with it an opportunity to play the top Premiership teams in the country.

Like last year, Institute will not hold open trials for this squad. Identifying players with the appropriate level of talent and application to benefit from that pathway is something we believe we can do more successfully by working with the junior clubs in our area. Of course some players will always contact us directly, and like last year, we will always direct them to speak to their existing clubs first. Institute will not contact any young person or their family without permission from their club. 

We look forward to seeing coaches at game from January and building on the good relationships we developed with you all last year.

Thank you

William Anderson Eddie Seydak Gary Fowler

Chairman Academy Manager Youth Development Manager

Gary Fowler

Youth Development Manager

Institute FC

075 3941 0415

youth@institutefc.co.uk