League's academy kids kicking off!

The first ever fixtures in the NPL Football Academy kick off today (Wednesday) in what is a momentous occasion for the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League and the ground-breaking programme itself, writes Tom Glendon.

The NPL Football Academy was launched in May and is running a pilot scheme for the 2014-15 season with five member clubs - Leek Town, Mickleover Sports, Newcastle Town, Radcliffe Borough and Romulus - taking part in the inaugural programme. The scheme will expand to 12+ clubs for the 2015-16 season with more information on the new clubs expected to confirm their places set to be announced soon.

Up to 20 students at each club have been on the programme for a month now, starting their studies while going through a pre-season training programme which includes daily training and friendly fixtures delivered by their UEFA B qualified coaches at each participating club.

Today sees Radcliffe Borough's youngsters host Leek Town at Stainton Park while their counterparts at Mickleover Sports welcome Newcastle Town to the Raygar Stadium.

You can follow match updates from each game on the NPLFA's social media sites which are listed below or by visiting the academy's newly relaunched website at www.nplfa.co.uk.

* The EVO-STIK NPL is the first league in English football to launch a youth league and academy combining football with further education.

The NPLFA opened its doors to its first intake of students last month after being officially sanctioned by the Football Association.

The initial pilot programme sees students aged 16-18 studying for a BTEC Level 3 in Sport on two year courses as well as working with FA licensed coaches on a daily basis. As well as competing in the new EVO-STIK NPL Youth League, they will also play in national competitions led by the FA Youth Cup.

Follow the new academy's progress at nplfa.co.uk, twitter.com/NPLFA and at facebook.com/NPLFA.

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