In AFC Wimbledon, they have huge ambitions. Not only for the League One team but also in the Academy, which invests heavily in developing the next great talents eighteen years after the club's foundation. 

We went to Wimbledon to visit a relatively new established club with quite a rich and exciting story despite its age. 

Once upon a time, a club called Wimbledon Soccer Club operated in the Premier League. In 2001 the club got new owners and announced its intention to move 56 miles north to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. As a result of the club leaving south London, which was deeply unpopular, some supporters decided to form a new club.

Bringing the club back to its roots

To the delight of the supporters, AFC Wimbledon came to life in 2002. 

"Here we're sitting, 18 years later, as a League One established side with a professional academy," says Micheal Hamilton, Academy Manager, AFC Wimbledon Academy. 

AFC Wimbledon currently holds the record for the longest unbeaten run of league matches in English senior soccer and is the first club formed in the 21st century to make it into the soccer League. 

The goal is to recruit academy players to the first team 

The Academy is paramount to the club. At the start of the 2021/22 season, over 24 academy players made their first team league debuts for the club, with academy players having made over 370 league appearances since 2011. 

The Academy has a player-centered approach, which places the athlete in the center of the focus. The coach's primary role is to develop the player as an athlete and a person based on the player's needs and goals for performance and life in general. 

"We are not a club that's going to spend lots and lots of money on individual signings, so the academy is massive for where the club is and where we want to go," says Oliver-Pearce, U18 Manager, AFC Wimbledon Academy. 

Supported by video analysis

"In terms of technology, we are supported by Veo. Our analysts will make sure that the soccer camera is set up pre-game or pre-training and that the games are always made available within the same day," says Oliver-Pearce.

This way, players can analyze the game on the video platform. 

"They can send in their clip packages, create highlight reels for themselves, and it allows us to have a more constructive 360 approach to their development when they can see what we're seeing," continues Oliver-Pearce. 

- Really beneficial to be able to watch our clips back

"It's really beneficial for us to be able to watch our clips back, from all different angles and be able to analyze and try and work on stuff to improve and then put it into practice after," says Ben Mason, Right Back, AFC Wimbledon Academy. 

The Academy currently competes in the Merit League One of the soccer Youth Alliance. The Academy certainly has huge ambitions for its players, and a way to constantly improve is by analyzing what is going on in the field. 

"No matter what industry or what role you're in, you always want to get better, and you're always learning, so it allows us to go back, review, reflect, and then create a better plan for player development," says Oliver-Pearce.

We can't wait to see where the Academy at AFC Wimbledon takes these young players.