Nickname(s) The Royals Chairman John Madejski | Ground Hogwood Park | |
Full name Reading Football Club Under-18s & Academy Manager David Dodds,
Martin Kuhl (Under-21s),
Eamonn Dolan (Academy) | ||
Reading F.C. Under-18s is the youth football club of Reading F.C., in Reading, England.
Contents
Under-18 squad
The under-18s play their home matches at Hogwood Park, the club's training ground, with a selection of games each season being played at the Madejski Stadium. Three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 18 are allowed to be selected for each fixture, with scholars from the Academy squad also eligible to play. The following players are those in the senior squad who are under 18, but are not regularly involved in first team games.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Staff
Academy and development staff
Graduates
Prior to the establishment of the Academy, Reading produced several players for the first-team who went on to have successful careers. Neil Webb became Reading's youngest ever goalscorer aged 17 years and 31 days and made a total of 81 appearances for the club, later going on to win 26 England caps. Ady Williams made nearly 400 appearances in three spells between 1988 and 2004 and was capped 13 times for Wales whilst Stuart Lovell made 227 league appearances, scored 58 times and played twice for the Australia national team. Others to have come through the ranks include Johnny Brooks, Jerry Williams, Steve Hetzke, Scott Taylor and Maurice Evans, who made over 400 league appearances for Reading and later managed the first-team between 1977 and 1984.
Since the Academy opened in 1999, 33 graduates have gone on to play for the first team. Players who have gone on to play for their country at full international level are marked in bold whilst those still at the club are marked in italics.
Careers elsewhere
A number of players attached to the Academy as schoolboys and scholars, as well as those who signed professionally but never made a first team appearance, have gone on play league football elsewhere. Those that have gone on to play for their country at full international level are marked in bold.