Southampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy

50°53′17″N 1°27′38″W / 50.888035°N 1.460478°W / 50.888035; -1.460478 Southampton F.C. Under-21s and Academy or Saints U21s and Academy is the youth organisation run by Southampton F.C. to encourage and develop young footballers in the south of England. Renowned players including Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and Alan Shearer began their careers at this academy.

The team is made up of under-21 and academy players, is effectively Southampton's second-string side, but is limited to three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012–13 season.^[1] They play in Premier League 2, Division 2. The team also competes in the EFL Trophy, Premier League International Cup, Premier League Cup and the Hampshire Senior Cup. The under-18 players among other younger age groups make up the Academy team and play in the Premier League U18 First Division, South, Premier League U18 Cup and the FA Youth Cup.

Home fixtures are contested at A.F.C. Totton's Testwood Stadium with some fixtures being held at St. Mary's. Some games are played at the club's training facilities at Staplewood in Long Lane, Marchwood, Southampton if required. Since February 2025, the Under 21s have been managed by Calum MacFarlane while since June 2025, the Under 18s have been managed by Andrew Surman.

• Under 21 (professionals)
• Under 18
• Under 16
• Under 15
• Under 14
• Under 13
• Under 12
• Under 11
• Under 10
• Under 9
• Under 8

Amongst the players who passed through the Saints Academy and went on to represent their country since the turn of the Millennium are:

In the past, prior to the establishment of the academy, the Southampton youth system has produced other international players, including Terry Paine, Martin Chivers, Steve Williams, Mick Channon, Matthew Le Tissier, Kevin Phillips, Alan Shearer and Dennis Wise.

Four former Saints academy players featured in the England Under-21 match against Montenegro on 7 September 2007: Martin Cranie and Theo Walcott both started (with Walcott setting up the second goal) whilst Dexter Blackstock and Andrew Surman came on as second-half substitutes, with Surman scoring the final goal in a 3–0 victory, tapping the ball home in stoppage time from a knock-down by Blackstock.^[2][3]

In England's international friendly against Denmark on 5 March 2014, three graduates of the Southampton F.C. Academy appeared as second-half substitutes: Luke Shaw (making his debut), Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Andy Goldie is the current Academy Director, having joined the club from Swansea City in July 2023. His assistant, Duncan Fearnhead, is the Academy Manager, having previously held the same role at Accrington Stanley. The current academy set up has teams at all age groups from Under 8s all the way through to the professional U21 team, employing large number of coaches and educational staff. Academy players from the age of 16 up until the age of 18 are often looked after by Host Families within the local area.

The aim of the Southampton academy is to "...produce Premiership class players..."^[4]

Southampton has regularly reached the latter stages of the FA Youth Cup, as well as being successful in the FA Premier Academy League championship. In the 2010–2011 season the U18s were only just "...Pipped to the Title..." by one point on the last day of the season of the Group A league. Southampton had to win and Fulham had to draw or lose for Southampton to come top. After winning 1–3 away to Coventry City the U18s were dismayed to discover Fulham had come back from being 0–3 down versus Leicester City to win 5–3.

The academy has joined up with local college Sparsholt College to try to give those footballers who have missed out on a scholarship the opportunity to remain in the game and train and play matches with the Southampton Academy.^[5]

In May 2013, Andre Villas-Boas, manager of Tottenham Hotspur praised the Southampton Academy for its ability to produce star players, describing it as "a great school of development" and comparing it to the Sporting Lisbon's youth academy in Portugal.^[6]

In April 2015, a Southampton U21 side won the U21 Premier League Cup, defeating a Blackburn Rovers U21 side in the two-legged final at St Mary's Stadium in front of more than 12,000 fans. Goals from Ryan Seager and Sam Gallagher cancelled out a Matt Targett own goal to give Southampton a 2–1 victory after extra time to win the second edition of the cup.^[7]

In September 2020, Southampton revamped their Under-23s programme to 'enhance the pathway into the first team for its younger players.' A 'structure and philosophical overhaul' saw the Under-23s side become a B team. The new B team will mirror the training programmes, coaching and style of play of the first team. Training and fixtures, where possible, will also be organised so it does not clash with the first team so the first team manager and coaches can watch the side train or play and also take part in coaching sessions. The side will still continue to participate in the same competitions as before the revamp.^[8]

Under new club Director of Football Matt Crocker, individual player coaches have been brought-in to try and improve players coming through the academy. Lee Skyrme was appointed B team individual player coach in 2021, while Mikey Harris was appointed in the same role for the U18s in the same year.^[9] Harris was replaced in 2022 by Pete Haynes, with Harris having been promoted to U18 head coach.^[10]

Players (excluding scholars) who will qualify as Under-21 team players in season 2025–26 (i.e. born on or after 1 January 2005) and who are outside the first team squad.

As of 30 August 2024^[11]

• Squad numbers represent numbers given to players for first team and EFL Trophy matches only.
• ± Denotes a player on an 'extended scholarship'.
• * Denotes a player who is overage (born before 1 January 2005) and outside of the first team squad.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• Premier League 2, Division 2
  • Champions: 2022–23
  • 2nd (promoted via playoffs): 2018–19

• U21 Premier League Cup
  • Winners: 2014–15
• Southampton Senior Cup
  • Winners: 2017–18
• South Shields International Tournament
  • Winners: 2018–19

As of 15 August 2024^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• * = Professional contracts

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• * = Professional contracts

• U18 Premier League, Division 1
  • Champions (South Group), National runners-up: 2021–22

• FA Youth Cup
  • Runners-up: 2004–05

Academy Leads

• Academy Director: Andy Goldie
• Academy Manager: Duncan Fearnhead
• Head of Academy Coaching: Ricky King
• Head of Academy Recruitment: Chris Robinson
• Head of Academy Performance: Tom Sturdy
• Head of Player Strategy: Olly Lancashire

Under-21 / Under-18 management

• U21 Coach: Calum MacFarlane
• U21 Assistant Coach: Matthew Etherington
• U18 Coach: Andrew Surman
• U18 Assistant Coach: Callum Martin
• Development Goalkeeping Coach: Ryan Flood

A number of players from the Southampton F.C. Academy have gone on to have careers in professional football, whether at Southampton or at other clubs. The following is a list of players who have made their Southampton first-team debuts since the turn of the millennium. Players who have represented Southampton in only the EFL Trophy are not included in this list. Academy graduates who still play for Southampton, including those that are currently out on loan to other clubs, are highlighted in green. Where players have made their debut in the same fixture, they are sorted alphabetically by surname.

As of 25 May 2025

• Southampton Under-23s at saintsfc.co.uk
• Southampton Under-18s at saintsfc.co.uk
• The Southampton FC academy way – These Football Times (2015)