'Authoritarian' treatment of youth PL players damage attempts to produce future stars: Report

An 'authoritarian' treatment of youth team players in Premier League football clubs in which they are subjected to humiliation and insults, undermined attempts to change the culture of clubs and produce better footballers, according to a research.

Researchers from the Sheffield Hallam University's Academy of Sport and Physical Activity said that Premier League soccer stars are subjecting their club's junior players to regular insults and practical jokes in a humiliating rite of passage.

Researcher Dr Chris Platts, who interviewed 303 junior players aged 16 to 18 and 13 coaches at 21 professional soccer clubs in England operating an Academy training system, said that it is not unusual for youth players to be the butt of jokes, be talked down, to or in extreme cases be on the end of verbal or physical punishment.

Punishments include possessions of players being hidden as a 'trick', being 'battered' (mocked) and forcing players into laundry baskets and then dragging the baskets into the showers.

Platts also said that it is particularly difficult for the younger players over the way in which their treatment by professionals provoked negative emotions towards their 'esteemed' players, adding that coaches often adopted 'deep-rooted authoritarian approaches' to ensure youth players were always aware they had not yet made the grade.

Platts noted that the Premier League and Football Association had launched the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) to improve the development of youth players, although he said that the findings of this research suggest that the deep-rooted culture that exists within Academy football will serve to undermine the effectiveness of any policy.