Morecambe FC in partnership with Football Futures is offering school leavers the opportunity to forge a career in professional football, as the Club's Academy setup continues to go from strength to strength.
This unique partnership with Football Futures, based in Manchester, has been created to help 16–18 year-olds find their way back into full-time professional football, who may have been lost in the system or dropped out altogether.
Headed up by ex-Morecambe FC player Paul McGuire, Football Futures will work alongside the Morecambe FC Academy to help find and nurture young talent throughout Greater Manchester and Cheshire, who otherwise may have given up on a dream of making it as a professional footballer.
Speaking about this partnership, Paul McGuire from Football Futures said: "This programme will help support Morecambe with their late developer strategy, whilst also offering young players throughout Greater Manchester the chance to play a good level of football and study for a BTEC qualification.
"I have a good working relationship with Stewart Drummond formed over many years and we will be working closely at all stages to offer training and game opportunities that will sit alongside study time."
Morecambe FC Academy Manager Stewart Drummond said: "We are always looking at ways to increase our reach into other areas, to enable us to see more players with the potential to progress into our football club.
"We have previously operated successful projects in Liverpool and Manchester, with the recruitment of Carlos Mendes Gomes and Lamine Jagne clear examples that players are out there who have the potential to make the step up to professional football, but currently sit outside the Academy system.
"In addition to our Academy age groups running from ages 9 to 18 signed to the Academy, partnerships such as this with Football Futures for 16-18s offers a pathway for late developers, with myself and other Academy staff tracking their progress throughout."
The final round of this year’s recruitment will take place between Easter and May half term, with interested U16 players asked to express their interest in attending training or trial games by contacting Paul McGuire on 07753536787, or by emailing headoffice@footballfuturesgroup.com.