The retain-release process in elite youth football academies: Parent perceptions and recommendations for minimising harm

Abstract

Previous research has highlighted the challenging nature and impact of being released, as part of the retention process, for young people within elite youth football academy systems. In turn, there has been acknowledgment of a need to inform and improve release protocols to minimize player harm. Grounded within the youth development phase (i.e., early-mid adolescence) of English youth football academies, this study investigated parents’ perceptions and experiences of the academy retain-release process to inform best practice recommendations for minimizing harm to children. A total of eight parents from five elite English football academies, with experience of the yearly retain-release process, took part in semi-structured interviews with data subjected to reflexive thematic analysis. An overarching theme that ‘clubs and parents have a shared responsibility to sensitively manage the retain-release process’ represented parents’ perspectives, with sub-themes reflecting how being released is an accepted but challenging part of the football journey; and that parents need to help their child keep things in perspective. Parents stressed that clubs need to prevent families from playing a ‘guessing game’, engage in honest, face to face conversations, work with parents on ideal ways to communicate a release decision, and provide clarity on the availability of necessary aftercare. These findings offer new insights into the retain-release process, which at the youth development phase, may be most sensitively managed by integrating parents as collaborative assets within a child-centered, high functioning talent development environment.