The academy, established in its current form in 1999, trains boys in age groups from under 9s through to under 18s.
[7] In 1996, the directors of Birmingham City dismantled their youth development system in the belief, according to manager Barry Fry, that the Bosman ruling meant "they may invest a substantial sum in producing a player who was then picked off, without cost, by a rival club", and the £250,000 annual saving would be better spent bringing in players from outside.
[8] Fry's successor as manager, Trevor Francis, insisted that the system should be reinstated and brought in Brian Eastick to oversee the process; by 1999 the club had met the Football Association's criteria and received a licence to operate an academy.
[9][10] Since the youth system was re-established, a number of players have graduated to careers in League football at Birmingham or elsewhere, some examples being Darren Carter, Craig Fagan, Andrew Johnson, Marcos Painter, Mat Sadler and Jude Bellingham.
Academy products who have represented their country include Colin Doyle (Republic of Ireland),[11] David Howland (Northern Ireland U-21),[12] Sone Aluko (England U-19),[13] Krystian Pearce (2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup with England U-17),[14] and Aaron Moses-Garvey, whose St Kitts and Nevis U-20 side reached the final qualifying round for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup[15] and who made his full international debut in February 2008.
[16] In the 2009–10 season, goalkeeper Jack Butland was part of the England under-17 team that won the 2010 European championships,[17] and Will Packwood played for the USA at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
[22] Under the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan, Birmingham's Academy was assessed as category 2 (of 4)[23] The academy teams play their matches at the club's training ground, Wast Hills, at Kings Norton, south Birmingham.