# How much does the club spend on the Academy, and how can supporters help?

Topic: Academy and Football

The club shared detailed figures at the [September 2026 meeting](https://images.gc.barnsleyfcservices.co.uk/74ab62d0-b04f-11f1-92c1-33d9855aa291.pdf). Last season the club spent £2.319 million running its Category 2 Academy, covering all age groups up to under-21s, offset by £804,000 of grant aid, so the club itself contributed about £1.51 million. Across Category 2 academies nationally the highest spend was £4.66 million, the average £2.7 million and the lowest £1.6 million, so Barnsley's is broadly in line with the average. Two Academy players were sold in 2026 but the fees came nowhere near covering the annual contribution.

On what the money produces: 11% of first-team minutes last season went to Academy graduates against a League One average of 7%, with 3.28 Academy-developed players in the average matchday squad. In the early weeks of 2026/27 the figure was 33.9% of first-team minutes, with nine different Academy players used and roughly three-quarters of each bench from the Academy. The club reviews the investment regularly against wages, transfer value, community impact, squad depth and player pathways, and says it would not continue if it were not satisfied it was the right decision.

The club has asked whether the FAB or the Supporters Trust could support a specific Academy project, with transport, kit (which families fund themselves until players go full-time at about 16) and nutrition mentioned. It will produce a shortlist of five or six opportunities with indicative costs, and the FAB will hold a separate meeting to weigh Academy support against the big screen as its fundraising priority. The club has been candid that it faces constant competing demands on limited money, and that it is for the FAB to decide which one or two priorities it wants to get behind.

## Related minutes

- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2026-02-12.md
- https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/minutes/2026-09-08.md

Source: https://fab.barnsleyfc.co.uk/faq/academy-funding