WANDERERS Academy was created in 1998 and represents the youth policy of Bolton Wanderers Football Club. It is designed to bring boys through from the junior teams to the first team squad.

Boys from the age of 7 to 16 are recruited locally within a distance of 1 1/2 hours travelling time to the training venue, and put into coaching groups. Each age group has two well-qualified UEFA A or B standard coaches allocated to it.

In many instances, the coaches are ex-professional footballers. The boys are encouraged to enjoy the football and have fun, and are given technical guidance and have regular meetings with their coaches to discuss progress. Parents are involved in all the decision making processes and schools are informed of progress via technical and educational reports.

Boys who come into the Club at 16 years of age are known as 'scholars'. These players follow an educational programme of 1½ days per week on a course of their choice and are coached all other days by the full time Academy Coaches. We have teams at U17 and U19 level. Boys from outside the area are placed with families so that they are well looked after. The families are all keen sports fans. Many of whom are season tickets holders with the Wanderers.

The first product of the academy was Kevin Nolan, a former England under 21 International and now the Club's captain, who had the distinction of scoring Wanderers' first goal upon their return to the Premier League in 2001. Followed by local lad Nicky Hunt and Dubliner Joey O'Brien who have both become regular faces in the first team. Ricardo Vaz Té is yet another product from the Academy set up, arriving from Portugal at the age of 16.

Bolton Wanderers Academy Staff:
Academy Manager - Jimmy Phillips
Assistant Academy Director - Peter Farrell
Assistant Academy Director - Pete Almond
Head of Education, Welfare Child Protection Officer - Lynda Watt
International Academy Manager - John Hindley
Academy Physiotherapist - Andy Renshaw 
Academy Doctor - Dr Andrew Jackson

Transport Co-ordinator - Ian Connor
Academy Administrator - Kath Matthews

Contact Details:- Telephone - 01204 673722 
E-mail - kmatthews@bwfc.co.uk