Birmingham City braced for audit as Knighthead deliver on takeover promise

Birmingham City will be audited by the Professional Game Academy Audit Company (PGAAC) in the coming months to determine whether they are Category One compliant.

Blues owners Knighthead have pledged millions to improve the academy facilities at Wast Hills – now known as the Knighthead Performance Centre – to bring the club in line with the best youth set-ups in the country. Mike Rigg was appointed academy technical director earlier this year with the chief aim of restoring Blues to Category One status.

“There are currently 26 clubs that sit within Category One status and I’m really pleased to say that early next year our aim is to make it 27. This puts us in best in best – best in class,” said Rigg.

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“In December or early next year we will be audited. An external company will come in, spend a week with us and take us through the full audit process. Call it what you will, it’s an Ofsted type process.”

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If the auditors deem Blues worthy of Category One status, the club will receive a provisional one-year licence before another audit is completed next season. A second provisional 12-month licence will be awarded before Blues are granted a three-year Category One licence in 2025/26.

Clubs are judged across every facet of their academy, from coaching to education, player welfare and safeguarding, medical, talent identification, physical performance, psychology and performance analysis.

Blues have strengthened their workforce with appointments across the board in the last 12 months to ensure they are compliant.

The club lost its Category One status in 2022 after being granted an initial 12-month provisional licence.