What is the best age to attend a football trial?
At a UK Football Trial, the trialists are divided into the age groups that experience has shown us work best. These are 8-10 years, then 11-13 years, then 14-16 years, then 17-24 years. You will see these age groups clearly displayed in the trials section of our website.
We keep a close eye on the numbers in each group so there is an even distribution of players, and always try and ensure that there are not too many or too few in each age group.
Because football trials are physically demanding, the younger two age groups have a two hour trial, while the older two groups have a trial lasting three hours. This is simply because, again, experience has shown us that this the optimal time for the trials to last.
Can players over the age of 18 get scouted from a trial?
The answer to this question is a resounding “Yes”.
At UK Football Trials we have dozens of success stories on our website of players up to the age of 24 being scouted. However, realistically, if a player is over 18 with no pro academy background, it is likely that there will be interest mainly from league 2 or semi pro clubs initially, rather than elite clubs.
However, this is the first step on the ladder, and if a player is good enough, they will progress up through the leagues, just as Jamie Vardy did when he progressed from a semi pro club to a Premier league winners medal with Leicester City in 2016. He was let go by Sheffield Wednesday in 2003 and played for Stocksbridge as a semi pro till 2010. Then he moved to Halifax Town, then Fleetwood in 2011, before moving to Leicester in 2012.