Academy Manager Bryan Bull has delivered his reaction to the positive academy audit that the club has recently received.
Gillingham Football Club has been given a full three-year renewal of its Academy licence.
The five day audit was carried out at Medway Priestfield Stadium and at the Club’s Academy at the end of last year with Academy Manager Bryan Bull, First-Team Coach Mark Patterson, Manager Steve Lovell and Chairman Paul Scally all heavily involved as all aspects of the academy setup were inspected and reviewed.
The EFL said the club had passed with “flying colours” and “had been placed towards the very top of the top third clubs who passed the audit.”
Relevant members of staff as well as players were interviewed, training sessions were assessed and facilities inspected before the audit was compiled prior to a result being presented to the club in early June.
The academy run age groups from U9’s all the way through to U18’s and Gillingham are one of very few clubs to be given a three-year licence with no conditions attached.
Speaking to the club website in the last few days, Bryan Bull revealed how pleased he was to receive the news.
He said: “This year’s audit contained different criteria, it’s an onerous process and there was six months hard work providing evidence leading up to the audit.
“I’m very pleased to say we were right at the very top end of the group who were granted licences.
“A massive number of people have provided significant input into the result, and continue to do so. We can’t operate without the licence and to be at the very top end fills me with confidence and we have been told how strong and robust our processes are. That is gratifying to hear but our staff needed to carry these out diligently and they have done that in abundance.”
Chairman Paul Scally added: "The fact we have received such positive feedback from our recent audit is testament to the hard work that is put in by our academy staff on a day-to-day basis.
"Many are the unsung heroes of the club who dedicate their time to helping our next generation of players come through, what has proven to be time and time again, a very productive academy setup.
"I’d like to congratulate everybody involved and our supporters should be very proud of what our team have achieved."