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The West Ham United Academy is recognised as one of the most successful academies in modern football, hence its nickname the Academy of Football. The introduction of the FA's new Academy system in 1998 has placed even more emphasis on the developing of young homegrown players and today the youth system at West Ham is more important than it has ever been. With the influx of many foreign players in the Premier League during modern times, West Ham United has been regarded as one of the few remaining clubs in top flight to continue producing and playing homegrown English players.
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The Academy has notably produced England internationals Bobby Moore, Sir Trevor Brooking, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson. Ferdinand and Lampard were part of the squad that lost the final of the 1996 FA Youth Cup while Cole and Carrick were part of the successful team in the 1999 campaign. Most recent graduates include first team regulars former England U-21 captain Mark Noble, Wales international Jack Collison and England U-21 internationals James Tomkins, Junior Stanislas and Zavon Hines.
Development squad
The West Ham United Reserves competed in the Premier Reserve League South until relegation from the Premier League. The side is now classed as a development squad coached by Steve Potts. Friendly games were usually played at Chadwell Heath and other clubs training grounds.
Since the 2012–13 season, the team have played in the Professional Development League for players under the age of 21 and a restricted number of over age players. Home games will be played at Rush Green and the Boleyn Ground.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserves
The West Ham United Reserves Team was founded in 1899 as Thames Ironworks Reserves and they changed their name to West Ham Reserves in 1900. They joined London League Division One in the season 1899-00. In 2007-08 they were FA Premier Reserve League Southern Division runners-up on goal difference.
'A' team
Between 1948 and 1956 West Ham entered an 'A' team into the Eastern Counties League. In 1952 they also began playing in the Metropolitan League. After leaving the ECL they remained in the Metropolitan League, winning the League Cup in 1957–58 and the Professional Cup in 1959–60, 1966–67 and 1968–69. They left the league when it merged into the Metropolitan London League in 1971, and instead entered a youth team into the South East Counties League, which they won in 1984–85, 1995–96 and 1997–98, before leaving when the FA Academy system was set up in 1998.
Academy
see main article the Academy of Football
The West Ham Under-18s play in the Premier Academy League Group A. Home games are staged at Little Heath, Hainault Road in Romford, Essex. Tony Carr, a former West Ham player himself, was the youth academy director from 1973 to 2014. They have won the U-19 title twice in 1998–99 and 1999-00, when the Academy League was split into the U-17s and U-21s.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.