Football and education. Not football or education
16–19 Programme
The post-16 route combining education with elite football, built on a hybrid college partnership model with a progression route into US Soccer Scholarships.
Sixteen is a hard age for a lot of players. Football starts asking for more. Education starts mattering more. Too many players get told to pick one. The 16–19 Programme exists so they don't have to.
It runs on a hybrid model: a college partnership combining academic study with a genuinely elite football environment. Football isn't scheduled around school as an afterthought. The week is built to support both.
The programme has a purpose beyond the two years themselves, with a progression route into US Soccer Scholarships. Players are working toward a specific next step, not just finishing a course.
Entry isn't about football ability alone. We look at a player's academic standing and attitude to schoolwork too, because the hybrid model only works if a player commits to both sides of it.
Enquire about 16–19 Programme16–19 Programme breakdown
Composition
- Hybrid college partnership: education alongside elite football
- Structured, full-time training environment for 16–19 year olds
- Progression route into US Soccer Scholarships
- Built for players serious about both football and academics
How it works
- 01
We identify a college able to deliver the academic side of the hybrid model, either an existing partner or a new institution brought into the programme.
- 02
We agree the structure with that college: how the week splits between academic time and football time, and how EFC's coaching staff and the college's teaching staff communicate.
- 03
Players are enrolled onto the combined timetable, full-time football training run by EFC and full-time academic study run by the college, both counted toward the same two-year programme.
- 04
EFC and the college stay in regular contact throughout, so academic progress and football progress are tracked together rather than managed by two disconnected institutions.
- 05
As a player approaches the end of the programme, progression conversations begin, assessing whether they move into US Soccer Scholarships and what that transition looks like.
Start here
How to enquire
Enquiries about 16–19 Programme go straight to the EFC team by email — there's no form, no portal, and no queue.
- 1
Email Info@elitefootballcollective.com with the subject line “Enquiry: 16–19 Programme” — that routes your enquiry straight to 16–19 Programme, the same way the button below does.
- 2
Tell us who the enquiry is for (player, parent, club, or partner) and what you're hoping to get from 16–19 Programme. More context means a more useful first reply.
- 3
A member of the EFC team replies directly by email, not an autoresponder, usually addressing your specific question rather than sending generic information.
Explore 16–19 Programme in depth
A closer look at how 16–19 Programme breaks down.
The Hybrid Model
Education and elite football, in the same structure
A college partnership model that puts academic study and elite football training on equal footing.
Learn more →Daily Training Environment
A structured, full-time football environment
A full-time training environment built for 16–19 year olds serious about their development.
Learn more →Progression Pathway
A defined route into US Soccer Scholarships
A direct, structured progression route from the 16–19 Programme into US Soccer Scholarships.
Learn more →