Launched this week, academy.wolves.co.uk will provide a central hub for all Wolves Academy topics and will serve both parents and carers, players, opposition clubs and supporters.
The website’s wide appeal will come through a range of innovative and exciting digital features, bringing useful information, coaching advice and alumni stories to light.
Starting at the top of the Academy, with the under-23 and under-18 groups, academy.wolves.co.uk will provide news, stats, fixtures, results and tables, as well as live streams of James Collins’ team in action.
As well as the Wolves groups, the website will also provide an invaluable tool for outgoing and potential loans, showcasing the talent at the Academy and keeping tabs on those currently away from the club.
From a coaching perspective, the website will allow those aspiring to enter the industry to learn from Wolves’ elite professionals, through webinars and opportunities to access in-person sessions.
Further down the age groups, more information will be provided to current and potential players, parents and carers, as well as listings of soccer camps and schools taking place across the globe.
The alumni section of the website will also celebrate graduates from the Wolves Academy, providing details on their careers and the people they’ve become off the pitch, having been moulded by the pack.
Jon Hunter, head of coaching at Wolves Academy, said: “It’s going to transform what we do and what we look like outward facing. We want to tell people what we are doing and allow them to access information on various topics.
“There are fantastic resources in place at the Academy, across all departments, and now we’re going to have that information to hand for people that want to be involved, whether that’s parents and carers, other clubs looking for players or partners across the world. It’s going to be quite unique.
“It’s a place to keep people regularly updated with all events and information. If you’re a parent bringing your child into this environment, you want to access information, you want to see the facilities, read about the policies we have in place, and this gives a holistic view of our football club.”
Extensive research went into the project and Wolves used two giants of European football as a base but expanded their ideas further to create a comprehensive digital base for the Academy.
Richard Pepper, Wolves head of digital, said: “Very few clubs have invested the time into creating an online platform for their Academy and this will be the most in-depth that any Premier League club has produced. We’ve studied across Europe and the only two which compare are Barcelona and Ajax, so we’re in good company, but believe we’ve also improved on their sites.
“We wanted more visibility on the work at the Academy, so we had input from all the departments at the Academy for the content. It’s aimed at parents and carers, prospective players to find what they can expect, coaches looking to learn from our expertise and fans wanting news on the younger age groups.”
Proud of the launch, Hunter added: “We always talk about being progressive and this is an example of that. We’re pioneering and there will be more clubs who follow. People are going to excited, because it sells us for what we are and what we stand for.”
Website developers, Platform 81, played a key role in the creation behind the scenes, and believe the user experience will be of a high quality for all those visiting the page. Technical director, Gary Mawhinney, said: “We are delighted to be able to continue supporting Wolves to help build the club’s online presence.
“The Academy represents an area of the club which is hugely important, and the new website will offer the opportunity to really engage users with high quality content. The new website presents a clear and concise user experince for coaches, players and parents along with providing users a feel for what the academy at Wolves is all about.”
Now live, supporters are able to explore academy.wolves.co.uk, which will continue to develop and grow in the future.
