Statoil is the exclusive Aberdeen Football Club ‘Talent Partner’ with the emphasis specifically on the future development of elite youth players through the AFC Youth Academy. The Statoil “Heroes of Tomorrow” sponsorship concept supports talented young people, not just in sport but also in culture and education to help them achieve their ambitions. The Statoil Young Talent and Talent of the Month awards are awarded to players who show an exceptionally high standard of talent during Academy training sessions and matches at club and international level.

Under 11 Goalkeeper, Theo Thomson is the October Winner of the Statoil Young Talent of the Month Award.  Theo now becomes only the second goalkeeper to win the monthly prize and earned the award for the significant improvement he made in his game during the month.  Due to dedicating a lot of practice to working with his feet, Theo will also play outfield in occasional forthcoming matches when the Under 10s play Under 11 opposition locally.  His performances during October were also of a very high standard for the Under 11s, and he was a stand out performer in the competitive fixtures against Hibernian and Hamilton. 
 
Head of Academy Coaching Gavin Levey praised Theo’s recent progress by saying, ‘He’s a great listener and both the goalkeeping staff and the Under 11s coaches always mention how willing Theo is to learn.  He’s a brave young keeper at the moment and with keepers arguably using their feet more than their hands these days, Theo’s been determined to be the best he can in all the outfield activities.  When the Under 11s coaches suggested Theo play in the occasional Under 10s fixtures, we thought it was a fantastic idea as he’ll still play against his own age, whilst working on his technique and having an appreciation for the roles that are carried out by players in front of him’.

Dean Campbell is the winner of the Statoil Talent of the Month for October. His performances during October were excellent, and was capped off at the end of the month with his inclusion in the Scotland U16s squad who participated in Victory Shield tournament against Wales, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Head of Youth Academy Neil Simpson said 'Dean has added a maturity to his performances this season. His strengths are his quality of passing and linking play between the back four to the front three.  During the October holidays Dean and a number of other U17 squad members trained full time with the Paul Sheerin and the U20 squad. During that week Manager Derek McInnes also asked Dean to train with first team players which was a fantastic experience for the him.'