New partnership will support the continued development of Academy standards, player development and wellbeing across the League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is delighted to announce a new partnership with MADE Football, which will support the continued development of Academy structures and standards across the League of Ireland and the LOI Academies.
As part of the partnership, MADE work closely with the League of Ireland to co-design a bespoke Academy Quality Assurance and Auditing Framework, tailored specifically to the needs, ambitions and evolving standards of League of Ireland Academies.
The framework will focus on the key components of a high-quality player development environment, ensuring that the development and wellbeing of players remains at the heart of Academy decision-making.
Through the new framework, League of Ireland Academies will undergo structured and independent evaluations, supported by clear, evidence-based reporting.
These evaluations will identify individual Academy strengths, development priorities and opportunities for improvement, providing clubs with a clear understanding of their current performance and areas for continued growth.
Crucially, the partnership will extend beyond the evaluation process itself. MADE will provide post-evaluation support to clubs, working with Academies to translate findings and recommendations into practical Academy Development Plans and sustainable improvements.
This approach will ensure that the Quality Assurance and Auditing Framework is not simply an assessment exercise, but a meaningful tool to support continuous development and raise standards across the League of Ireland Academy system.
The partnership, which is funded through Government support for the LOI Academy Programme, reflects the League of Ireland's continued commitment to creating high-quality environments in which young players can develop both on and off the pitch, while supporting clubs in building sustainable Academy structures for the future.
Will Clarke, Head of LOI Academies, said: “Our ambition is to continually improve the environments in which our young players are developing, and this partnership with MADE represents another important step in that journey.
“We don't want this to be simply an audit or compliance exercise. Working with MADE, we will co-design a framework specifically for the League of Ireland which allows us to evaluate where our Academies are today, identify areas of strength and areas for development, and, most importantly, provide clubs with the support they need to improve.
The real value of this process is what happens after the evaluation. We want the findings to translate into practical Academy Development Plans, better environments and better development opportunities for our young players.
“We're really excited to be partnering with MADE. Their experience and expertise in player and Academy development aligns strongly with what we're trying to achieve, and we're looking forward to working closely with Terry, Adam and the team to support our clubs and continue raising standards across the League of Ireland Academy system.
“Finally, we're extremely grateful to Minister Patrick O'Donovan, Minister Charlie McConalogue and Sport Ireland for their continued support and investment in the League of Ireland Academy system. Partnerships and initiatives like this are another example of that investment being translated into meaningful, long-term improvements in the development environments we provide for our young players.”
Terry Westley, Co-Founder and Technical Director, MADE, said: “Honoured, excited and proud were just some of our initial thoughts on securing the contract to collaborate with the League of Ireland on the design and delivery of the Academy Quality Assurance and Auditing Framework project.
“We are honoured that MADE has been selected as the League of Ireland's football partner. Having worked across the world game, we firmly believe in the importance of developing the game from grassroots through to the elite end of the profession across both the men's and women's game so when this project came to our attention it quickly established itself at the top of MADE's wish-list.
“This is an exciting developmental project to be involved in - a project that will be co-designed with the LOI, shaped to support the Irish football environment and grounded in best practice - and we greatly look forward to working with the many talented individuals within the Irish football community on the implementation of this elite development program.
“We are proud to collaborate with the LOI, and all stakeholders, in working towards raising standards, supporting clubs and strengthening Irish football for the future and we thank you for putting your trust in MADE.”
