Accrington Stanley have announced the closure of their academy, after confirming the decision with the EFL.
The League Two club cited ‘financial challenges’ as the reason for the move.
A club statement said: ‘This difficult decision is a direct result of the severe financial challenges that the club is facing.
‘After careful consideration, the Board has concluded that continuing to operate the Academy at this time is not a viable option.’
The closure comes after Hyndburn Council revoked Stanley’s entertainment licence in March after noise complaints from people living beside the Wham Stadium. This resulted in a loss of revenue as the club could no longer use the stadium facilities for non-matchday events.
The council offered Accrington a grant of £140,000 which they said would ‘be the figure required to keep the Academy operational for the next 12 months.’
The club, however, turned down the offer, claiming in their statement that it would not be enough to resolve the issues that they are facing:
‘While we genuinely appreciate their [Hyndburn Council] offer, a detailed review of the club’s financial situation and immediate challenges has made it clear that this support would not address the wider issues we are facing.
‘The enforced closure of our function rooms, rising costs […] has placed an ever-growing financial burden on our club and subsequently on our owner who is now in his 11th year of financially supporting Accrington Stanley FC.
‘Despite [owner] Andrew Holt’s continued generosity, the lack of significant revenue streams to offset these escalating expenses has left us with no option but to implement difficult but necessary cuts.’
The decision to close the Academy was a surprise, because it has been successful. Earlier this year, it received recognition as one of the top six most productive Academies in the EFL, and this season alone, Stanley had at least one Academy-developed player in every matchday squad.
Accrington finished the 2024-25 season in 21st place, eight points above the relegation zone.
