Arsenal wonderkid's mum co-launches service to help academy kids' parents
Academy stars are offered designer watches, VIP entrance into nightclubs and huge incentives to sign with top agents.
Kids also face major challenges at grassroots level plus the trauma of facing rejection and their dreams of being a Premier League superstar cruelly shattered. Agents target youngsters through social media from as young as 11 while parents are offered big cash incentives and even flash cars to sign up.
Now, two “football mums” have set up their own tailored service - with an online forum, podcasts and advice sessions - to help parents deal with the pressures of seeing their child trying to become the next Bukayo Saka or Phil Foden. One is Marcia Lewis - mum of Arsenal wonderkid Myles Lewis-Skelly - and the other co-founder Kat Chidiac, who has three sons and a daughter and has invaluable insight into the grassroots game and mental health.
They have set up No1 Fan Club which offers support and advice to parents and families as well as the Behind The Boots podcast plus a support network and specialised app. Among the guests so far have been Arsenal’s academy boss Per Mertesacker, Joanne Stanway - mother of Lioness hero Georgia - and Alex Iwobi’s dad Chuka.
Emile Smith Rowe’s dad Les, Leeds legend Eddie Gray and Troy Townsend have also taken part. They have also had guests talking about nutrition and fitness. It has been a steep learning curve for Marcia as her 16-year-old son is regarded as one of the best youngsters in the country, plays for Arsenal, has represented England and yet has resisted signing with an agent because, as she says, wants to “keep it simple.”
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She said: “We have a responsibility as parents as well because you hear stories about parents wanting brown envelopes, flash cars. But then when you have youngsters being dangled the watches and the VIP treatment, it doesn’t set a healthy precedent.
Marcia Lewis - mum of Arsenal wonderkid Myles Lewis-Skelly - and Kat Chidiac have launched the service (Instagram/no1fan.club)“We want to show the landscape before the families get into it. Is an academy right for you? It may be that they decide to leave it for a year. Or you know your rights when you do go in. We’re trying to build a village where you can ask questions, get advice and get answers.
“We’ve got podcasts, a space where you can share. On my journey with Myles, I’ve had some amazing conversations with people who have gone through it and now their kids are playing in the Premier League.”
Kat has three sons and a daughter and her son Raf is now at non-league Cockfosters. One of the big obstacles to overcome for any youngster is the pain of rejection from an academy. That is something Kat is acutely aware of having written a book on mental health - Now Is New: Stop Struggling Start Living - as they look to support the parents of kids from all levels of the game.
Kat said: “There’s 3.5 million kids out there playing organised football and those families sacrifice a lot. Family holidays, driving miles every week and it’s a massive commitment. We’re spoken to so many parents who have described it as brutal and horrific. It’s such a pressure on a family.”
For full details and membership, the website is: https://www.no1fan.club/
Travel U-turn
Government chiefs did a U-turn over new travel rules after a fierce backlash from Premier League clubs. The Department of Transport looked to block the “derogation of flights” where clubs use the same airline for every trip and therefore save time on security and passport checks.
But the clubs were up in arms as it threatened to add time to every trip on already tight travel schedules. After discussions, Government chiefs backed down to avoid a row.
TV overhaul
TV companies are pushing for more access at Premier League clubs this season - into the dressing rooms and tunnels - to pave the way for even more behind-the-scenes footage in the next broadcast deal.
TV companies are pushing for more access at Premier League clubs this seasonVAR confusion
It is still baffling to hear Premier managers and pundits complain that penalty claims were not checked on VAR. The VAR watches every piece of action In the penalty area but it only becomes a full-scale review when they need extra time and therefore the game has to be stopped.
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So the VAR did look at the handball claim against Arsenal’s Declan Rice in their game with Nottingham Forest - but they just did not deem it a penalty.
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