SJUS (Simon Johnson University of Soccer) Feb 2014 | Page 2

INTRODUCTION
The past ten years has seen a huge increase in the number of foreign players seizing
the opportunity to ply their trade at all levels of English professional football.
Whilst it can be argued that this influx has a bearing on the number of ground level
opportunities available to English players, there are no signs to show that any con-

structive measures have been put in place to redress the balance.
The significant impact of an institutional
apathy towards the nurturing of home-grown
talent is evident, as the National Team
continues to struggle to achieve success on the
world stage. In order to acquire and sustain

groups of players with the capability, quality
and experience to realistically compete at the
highest level, a significant shift in attitude
towards individual talent development is
required.
There is no shortage in this country of aspiring and
talented individual young players who possess the
dedication and commitment to achieve professional
player status. With this in mind, The Simon Johnson
University of Soccer programme has been designed
to provide the vehicle which will drive each
individual enrolled soccer student through the
processes required to reach graduation and beyond.