WAKEFIELD A.F.C.

ELITE FOOTBALL
PROGRAMME
[INTERNATIONAL]

www.wakefieldafc.co.uk
CONTENTS
1. About Us
2. Elite Football Programme
3. Key Personnel
4. Facilities & Accommodation
5. Welfare, Health & Well-being
6. Fees
1. About Us

Wakefield is the largest city in the UK without a professional football

team and it is our mission to change that. Our First Team are currently
playing as a Step 7 (Level 11) team and are registered in the Sheffield
and Hallamshire County Senior Football League Premier. During our
first season, we became an accredited FA Charter Standard Adult Club
and managed to successfully develop our own Academy that will go
onto bigger things in 2021/22. Our relationships in professional football
allow us to provide every opportunity for a player to progress to their
optimal level in the game.

www.wakefieldafc.co.uk
2. Elite Football Programme

Our Elite Football Programme prospects are recruited from all countries around the world. Players have previously come
from countries such as Bermuda, Australia, Greece, France, USA, Cameroon, West Indies, Nigeria, Martinique and Thailand.
We recognise that the success of the Elite Football Programme is a partnership between the player, parents and staff, with
all parties playing an active role to support the player in achieving their ambitions. Our relationships in professional football
allow us to provide every opportunity for a player to progress to their optimal level in the game.

We also have strong connections with the EFL with our Chairman Chris Turner, First Team Manager Adam Lockwood, and
EFP Manager Lee Crooks, boasting over 1000 professional football appearances between them. Chris Turner played over 450
professional games for teams such as Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland AFC and Manchester United, as well as coaching at
professional level with Leyton Orient, Hartlepool United, Sheffield Wednesday and Stockport County. Adam Lockwood
played nearly 400 professional games predominantly with Yeovil Town and Doncaster Rovers. Adam has also coached at a
professional level with Guiseley AFC. Lee Crooks played over 200 professional games, starting his career at Manchester City,
before going on to play for Barnsley, Bradford City and Rochdale.

With our connections to the EFL, proven performances by players could result in progression to a higher level of football.
We are also delighted to now have ZHUB Egypt as our exclusive partners in Egypt and the whole of the Middle East. ZHUB
will not only be our recruitment partner in these territories for development talent and summer camps, but are also
planning to build a Wakefield AFC Academy in Cairo and are working with other agencies in Saudi and UAE to promote the
club.
lennosreP yeK .3
CHRIS TURNER
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL
Playing Appearances
Sheffield Wednesday -166
Lincoln City - 5
Sunderland - 195
Manchester United - 64
Leeds United - 2
Leyton Orient - 58
Football Manager
Leyton Orient - '94 - '95
Hartlepool Utd - '99 - '02
Sheff Wednesday - '02 - '04
Stockport County - '04 - '05
Hartlepool Utd - '08 - '10
CEO
Chesterfield - '11 - '17
Sales and Marketing Manager
Port Vale FC - '17 - '18
ADAM LOCKWOOD LEE CROOKS
FIRST TEAM MANAGER E.F.P MANAGER
Playing Appearances Playing Appearances
Forest Green Rovers – 10 Manchester City – 73
Yeovil Town - 144 Northampton – 3
Torquay United - 9 Barnsley – 67
Doncaster Rovers - 151 Bradford City – 47
Bury - 18 Notts County – 18
Guiseley AFC– 6 Rochdale – 40
Oldham Athletic – 31 Guiseley
Guiseley AFC – 28 Ossett Town
Football Manager
Guiseley AFC - '16 - '17
4. Our Facilities
THE DOROTHY HYMAN STADIUM
One of our training facilities is the very impressive Dorothy
Hyman Stadium.

Home to our Elite Football Programme and our Youth

Development teams, the facility boasts a gym, indoor hall, a
fantastic FA accredited 3G pitch, alongside a full grass
pitch and athletics track. Along with first class changing
rooms and facilities, Dorothy Hyman also has excellent
analysis rooms and meeting rooms.

This is an impressive environment to learn and develop as a

footballer.
THE MILLENNIUM STADIUM
Our home ground is the impressive Millennium Stadium
in Featherstone which we ground share with the Betfred
Championship side Featherstone Rovers RLFC.

The stadium holds 9,800 fans and is a mix of standing

and seating.

It boasts classrooms, function rooms, hospitality suites,

training pitches and a Strength and Conditioning gym.
NUFFIELD HEALTH, WAKEFIELD
All of our Elite Football Programme Players have FREE
access 7-days a week to one of Wakefield’s top class gym
facilities.

The premium gym boasts high class gym equipment, a

swimming pool, jacuzzies, sauna and a steam room.
PLAYER ACCOMMODATION
Our accommodation is located at the spacious and homely
Eden Lodge, which has 18 Twin Bedrooms most with en-suite
and some are studios with their own kitchens and en-suite
facilities. The accommodation has a fit for purpose kitchen,
heating throughout the building and a separate kitchen on
floor two which has all the amenities you would expect.
Eden Lodge has a games room and boot cleaning room with
sinks and laundry facilities for our players to use. Eden Lodge
has a large car park to the rear for guests, staff and our Elite
Football Programme transport vehicles. There is also a
barbecue area and lounge area to one side of Eden Lodge for
our players to enjoy.
5. WELFARE, HEALTH & WELL-BEING
Part of the philosophy of the Elite Football Programme is our commitment to
safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young players. We expect all staff,
volunteers, parents/carers, young players, any partner agencies or any commissioned
service providers to share this commitment.

The key aims of the Wakefield AFC Elite Football Programme Safeguarding Policies
are to:
Develop a positive and pro-active approach to safeguarding in order to best
protect all children and young people who are registered with the EFP or engage
in associated activities, enabling them to participate and achieve in an enjoyable
and safe environment.
Demonstrate best practice in the area of safeguarding the welfare of all children
and young people.

Sport and physical activity has long been used as a tool to improve mental, physical
and social wellbeing. Within our Elite Football Programme, we actively promote a
healthy lifestyle. Our EFP athletes are encouraged to make the right decisions daily,
in order to live a healthy lifestyle and ultimately maintain a healthy state of mind.
Our players have specialist support across all areas of health and well-being, to
ensure they can operate at their maximum potential.
6. FEES
Below are the fees associated with our Elite Football Programme for International Players

Elite Football Programme with No Education= £10,000 per annum

What does it include?

Accommodation = £5,000
Training/Coaching = £3,000
Food [Breakfast Only] = £1,000
Travel = £750
Kits = £250

Before joining the Elite Football Programme, all players must pay a 10% deposit to secure their place on the
programme. Each player will also be required to either pay their year in full or on a monthly basis (in advance). If
a player fails to pay their fees they will be removed from the programme and will be asked to leave the player
accommodation.
Testimonial

In summary we believe that we are in an extremely strong position to continue

to take forward the development of a new football club in Wakefield now that
we have been given the approval by the local Wakefield Council to play future
games for Wakefield AFC in the new community stadium. It will be a true
community club and all our planning from the date of approval by the Council
will drive that model.
We await eagerly the opportunity to engage fully with all our planned partners
with that remit of developing a strong and sustainable professional football
club in tandem with Wakefield Trinity and other partner sporting organisations
in the area. We shall seek the support of all partners and shareholders
throughout, in all that we do, but with the firm aim of becoming a fully
commercial community club that can achieve its aims of becoming an English
League Football Club within 12- 15 years.

Mike Hegarty - Wakefield AFC Owner

www.wakefieldafc.co.uk