Despite the obvious challenges throughout the year, 2020 has been another productive year for our Youth Academy. Our Head of Youth Academy, Neil Simpson, summarises what has been achieved this year in testing circumstances.

“On and off the pitch It has been a very challenging year for everyone involved in the Youth Academy, but we are proud of the achievements and quality of work the young players and staff delivered, particularly during the lockdown home learning programme.

“Whilst initially there was disappointment that our U18s and development sides couldn’t complete their seasons with silverware still to play for, the dedication of players of all ages right through the Academy set-up was first class and a source of pride for us all. The highlights of that can be found on the infographics below.

“Whilst the players worked hard to do as much as they could from home, we were delighted to be able to return to training in late August and work with the players in person again. Matches have also returned on a regional level giving the players the opportunity to get back on the pitch which has been great to see after so long away from it.

“However, a key part of our development programme is to ensure every age group team gets the opportunity to travel abroad and play in a quality tournament, unfortunately everything was cancelled this year but we hope that this is something we can resume in 2021.

“Everyone, full-time and part-time staff, players and parents have shown great resilience and taken everything that 2020 has thrown at them in their stride, with a special mention to our operations team and coaching staff who have done a fantastic job to ensure the safety of everyone involved during our phased return to training and matches.

“Due to all of the challenges everyone has faced this year we have made the decision to retain all Academy players for season 2021 and look forward to seeing them return hungrier than ever before to take the next step on their journey towards the first team.

“For all of the setbacks, 2020 has certainly delivered plenty of inspiration for our youngsters with Ryan Duncan and Kieran Ngwenya making their first team debuts in recent weeks. Seeing Andrew Considine play his part in leading Scotland to a major tournament, whilst reaching 5th in the all-time appearance list as a Youth Academy graduate sets a great example of what can be achieved too.

“And whilst we want to see players stay at Pittodrie for as long as possible and achieve success here, seeing Scott McKenna move on for a club record fee is a reminder of the value that producing your own players can have.

“On behalf of everyone connected with the Academy I would like to thank everyone for their support throughout 2020.”

Neil Simpson, AFC Head of Youth Academy