Cheltenham Town FC Academy

Cheltenham Town FC Academy runs a category 3 academy based in Gloucestershire. They focus on elite youth development to nurture young talent.

The Academy has two Development Centres — the Hartpury Satellite Centre and the Mini Robins Sites at Cheltenham, Hereford and Malvern.

Cheltenham Town Academy’s Education Partner is the University of Gloucestershire, and its official X (formerly Twitter) account is @CTFCYofficial.

Academy Competitions

Each season, the Academy competes across the standard slate of competitions for Category Three clubs:

• U17 Professional Development League Cup – an English youth football tournament for players aged 17 and under.
• U18 Youth Alliance Cup – an EFL-organised youth tournament for Under-18 teams from League One and League Two clubs competing in the EFL Youth Alliance. It follows a format similar to the EFL Trophy, beginning with a regional group stage before progressing to a national knockout phase.
• U18 Professional Development League Cup – established for the 2021/22 season, featuring 32 teams divided into eight groups of four, with group winners advancing to the knockout stages.
• FA Youth Cup – the traditional nationwide knockout competition open to academy sides across English football.
• Gloucestershire FA Senior Challenge Cup – a county knockout competition contested by the young Robins alongside sides from across Gloucestershire.

2025/26 Season

The Academy enters the 2025/26 season under Lead Youth Development Phase Coach Calum Wands and Lead Professional Development Phase Coach Dave Palmer.

In October 2025, Tim Bell stepped down from his position as Academy Manager to pursue a new opportunity with Swindon Town, leaving after three years in the role and more than 15 years of service at Cheltenham Town.

The following month, Paul Gardiner was appointed the club’s new Academy Manager.

Full details of players retained, released, or returned from loan following the 2024/25 season can be found on the club’s official retained list.

Academy Players on Loan 2025/26

• Sopuruchukwu Obieri (Forward) – Gloucester City
• Cameron Walters (Defender) – Evesham United
• Tom King (Forward) – Worthing FC
• Charlie Chaple (Defender) – Malvern Town
• Mark Barber (Defender) – Taunton Town
• Freddy Willcox (Defender) – Hereford
• Harry Tustin (Midfielder) – Hereford

Academy Players in the First Team 2025/26

Freddy Willcox (Defender, #30), Harry Tustin (Midfielder, #38), Mark Barber (Midfielder, #42), Mamadou Diallo (Goalkeeper, #41).

International Players 2025/26

Leo Folley (Goalkeeper) – Wales U15.

2025/26 Tournament Groupings

In the U17 Professional Development League Cup, Cheltenham Town’s Under-17s were grouped with Under-17 sides from Walsall, Port Vale and Cardiff City.

In the U18 Professional Development League Cup, the Under-18s were drawn in Group A against AFC Bournemouth, Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth, with fixtures scheduled for 26 August, 4 October and 22 November 2025.

Season Timeline

July 2025

• Cameron Walters and Harry Tustin both signed their first professional contracts at Cheltenham Town.

October 2025

• Cheltenham Town’s Under-18s advanced to the second round of the FA Youth Cup, following their tie away against Cardiff City.

November 2025

• Cheltenham Town’s Under-18s were confirmed to travel to face Reading in the FA Youth Cup second round, with kick-off scheduled for Wednesday 12 November.
• Academy graduate Tom King continued to develop during his loan spell at Worthing.
• Cheltenham’s Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup run came to an end, following their tie away to Reading.
• Paul Gardiner was appointed the new Academy Manager at Cheltenham Town.

April 2026

• Mamadou Diallo was named the League Two nominee for the EFL Awards’ Apprentice of the Season, alongside Ollie Dewsbury of Bristol Rovers and Rian Silver of MK Dons — an award honouring outstanding young players who have excelled on and off the pitch during the season, with one winner selected per division at the ceremony in London.

2024/25 Season

A proud 2024/25 season for the Cheltenham Town FC Academy saw the Under-17s reach the semi-finals of the U17 Professional Development League Cup, and the Under-18s reach the semi-finals of the U18 Professional Development League Cup.

Scholars 2024/25

Jack Robinson, Noah Carter, Ethan Hardy, George McNamee, Charlie Croose, Ellis Rudman.

Academy Players on Loan 2024/25

• Cameron Walters (Defender) – Gloucester City AFC; North Leigh FC
• Brandon Liggett (Midfielder) – Salisbury
• Tom Way (Goalkeeper) – Lydney Town AFC
• Ibby Olateju (Forward) – Evesham United FC; Malvern Town FC
• Jude Franks (Goalkeeper) – Pershore Town FC
• Harry Tustin (Midfielder) – Evesham United FC
• Mamadou Diallo (Goalkeeper) – Bath City FC
• Cameron Walters (Defender) – Malvern Town FC
• Sopuruchukwu Obieri (Forward) – Hungerford Town; Worcester City
• Freddy Wilcox (Midfielder) – Oxford City FC
• Tino Shumba (Defender) – Fairford Town FC

Academy Graduates in the First Team 2024/25

Tom King (Forward, #29), Freddy Wilcox (Midfielder, #30), Brandon Liggett (Midfielder, #35), Harry Tustin (Midfielder, #38), Jude Franks (Goalkeeper, #42).

International Players 2024/25

• Leo Folley (GK) – Wales U15 Camp
• Ibrahim Olateju (FW) – Nigeria U20

2024/25 Tournament Groupings

In the U18 Youth Alliance Cup, Cheltenham Town’s Under-18s were drawn in Group E against Under-18 sides from Forest Green Rovers, Oxford United, Swindon Town and Walsall.

In the U18 Professional Development League Cup, the Under-18s were drawn in Group G against Swansea City, Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle.

Season Timeline

October 2024

• Cheltenham Town were drawn away to Hartpury University FC in the first round of the FA Youth Cup.
• Cheltenham Town secured a place in the second round of the FA Youth Cup, following their tie away to Hartpury University FC.
• Seven academy players had made their first-team debut in the past three years, with Harry Tustin being the most recent.

November 2024

• Cheltenham Town’s Under-18s were drawn away to Stevenage in the second round of the FA Youth Cup, with the match scheduled for Monday 18 November.
• Cheltenham were drawn at home to Exeter City in the third round of the FA Youth Cup, contingent on beating Stevenage.
• The FA Youth Cup journey came to an end for Cheltenham Town in the second round, following their tie away to Stevenage.

December 2024

• The club has a strong track record of promoting young players from its development centres to the academy, having signed 20 players through this process in the past 18 months.
• The Under-17s were set to take on Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in January, while the Under-18s were set to face Barnsley in February.

January 2025

• Cheltenham Town progressed to the quarter-finals of the Under-17s Professional Development League Cup, following their tie against AFC Bournemouth.

March 2025

• Young goalkeeper Mamadou Diallo was offered a first professional contract with Cheltenham Town.
• Cheltenham Town’s Under-17 Professional Development League Cup campaign came to an end at the semi-final stage, following their tie away to Swansea City.
• As part of EFL Youth Development Week, celebrated across all 72 League clubs, Cheltenham Town highlighted five academy stars who had signed their first professional contracts since the start of 2024: Tom King, Freddy Wilcox, Brandon Liggett, Sopuruchukwu Obieri and Mamadou Diallo.
• Cheltenham Town Academy scholars and graduates had played a total of 690 minutes in the Vertu Trophy since the start of the 2023/24 season.
• Cheltenham Town offered scholarships to Tom Curtis and Aiden Crouch, in recognition of their talent, dedication and contributions to the Robins’ youth setup.

May 2025

• 18-year-old Harry Tustin made his league debut for Cheltenham Town, coming off the bench in their EFL fixture against Bromley.

Released Academy Players (end of 2024/25)

Brandon Liggett.