ACADEMY LAUNCHES NEW PLAYER DEVELOPMENT CENTRE WITH AISCOUT

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Sessions to take place in Manchester

2025-08-19T15:00:00.000Z

ACADEMY LAUNCHES NEW PLAYER DEVELOPMENT CENTRE WITH AISCOUT

Sessions to take place in Manchester

2025-08-19T15:00:00.000Z

Sessions to take place in Manchester

Burnley Football Club, in partnership with aiScout, are launching an exciting new Player Development Centre (PDC) in Greater Manchester.

The initiative, which will be known as Future Clarets, gives children between the ages of seven and 14 the opportunity to be coached by BFC coaches, and potentially earn themselves a full Academy trial.

Sessions will take place at two locations in Manchester from September onwards, with the new location supplementing a centre that’s already running in Burnley.

To be in with a chance of earning a spot in the Future Clarets programme, it couldn’t be easier – all you need is a mobile phone and a football!

Aspiring players (or parents/guardians) simply have to download the aiScout app, create a profile and complete drills designed by the Club.

The Future Clarets initiative is designed to give aspiring young players the coaching needed to hone their skills, with PDC staff also working within the Clarets’ category one academy.

aiScout’s cutting edge AI technology provides a platform for young footballers to have their footballing abilities analysed by AI and gain visibility from professional scouts, all from using a mobile phone.

Burnley’s Academy recruitment team have been using the app to identify future talent for a number of years, with several players having now signed for the Club.

On the news, Academy Manager Chris Casper said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for players and their families, and it’s great to be able to continue our work with aiScout.

“Player recruitment is at the forefront of our minds as we aim to drive this Academy forwards, particularly since being granted our category one licence for the upcoming season.

“By opening the Future Clarets PDC, we hope to identify and work with talented young players from Manchester and the surrounding areas.

“We’re confident it will be a great area for that, and we look forward to getting started once the new school year gets underway.”

aiScout Director of Sports Science & COO, Richard Felton Thomas, commented: “Ever since we started working together in 2021, we have helped to give kids across the region the opportunity to realise their dreams – being analysed, scouted, trialled and signed for a Premier League Football Club.

“The launch of the Future Clarets Development Centre will provide more and more aspiring young footballers the chance to play for Burnley FC.

"We are proud to be working so closely with a Premier League and category one outfit and look forward to the next step in our journey together.”

To register your child’s interest in attending the Future Clarets PDC, you will firstly need to complete the form & download the aiScout app. To do so, please click HERE.

Once the app is downloaded, head to the Burnley Football Club trials and film your child(ren) performing the drills as specified.

The drills will be analysed and scored by the aiScout app, which allows Burnley’s scouts to understand players’ technical and athletic abilities.

If the scores are deemed high enough, the player will be invited to take part in the Future Clarets programme (they will be contacted directly by the Club).

If you would like any further information, please email aiScout on: Playersupport@ai.io.

Burnley's partnership with aiScout further demonstrates the club's alignment with new innovative tech. The club recently launched the Burnley FC Innovation Hub – a new accelerator programme created to help the next generation of sports tech start-ups turn bold ideas into real-world impact. Click here for more information.