to their football academies, training schools set up to develop young talent. every year clubs in the premier league and the other top divisions sign up hundreds of boys and girls aged between 9 and 16. they train and play matches while still at school. all those months, years playing in the cage, finally got rewarded. at 16, the most talented will be offered a paid scholarship, combining education and full time football training. i thought, i m on the right track now. i ve made it. nothing s going to stop me now. it s every little boy s dream. the academy system has been incredibly successful at producing a new generation of players in the men s game. superstars like rashford, sancho, foden, grealish and saka.
but if i m an agent who spots the nextjack grealish, that young man is worth millions of pounds to me in terms of the commission i can make on a transfer. it s an opportunity some agents can t resist. i ve heard of agents approaching children from as young as 10. the underhanded tactics to get players on your books, that is the dark side of the game. agents go to any player. any player that they feel they can just get any money off. you could be an absolute baller and an agent wants get you signed, because he knows that in 10 years time, your value will appreciate astronomically. i ve been trying to find out more about how football agents operate. it can be a murky world, where the tapping up of young players is commonplace. and few in the game are prepared to talk openly. but i ve had a breakthrough someone extremely close to an elite footballer
to keep them out. as far as recruiting young people are concerned, you can t have an agent if you re below the age of 16. but if i m an agent who spots the nextjack grealish, that young man is worth millions of pounds to me in terms of the commission i can make on a transfer. it s an opportunity some agents can t resist. i ve heard of agents approaching children from as young as 10. the underhanded tactics to get players on your books, that is the dark side of the game. agents go to any player. any player that they feel they can just get any money off. you could be an absolute baller and an agent wants get you signed, because he knows that in 10 years time, your value will appreciate astronomically. i ve been trying to find out more about how football agents operate. it can be a murky world, where the tapping up of young
superstars like rashford, sancho, foden, grealish and saka. this summer they took england to theirfirst tournament final for 55 years. also in the england squad is 21 year old reece james. he came through chelsea s academy, starting out atjust six years old. his dad nigel has been with him every step of the way. we re fortunate that it s worked for reece. from the age of 13 to 15, he had some tough times. but that s what made him the person he is today, was it hard for you as a parent going through thatjourney? yeah, it s a journey. i wouldn t like to go through it again. the vast majority of youngsters whojoin premier league academies will never play