Jamie Vardy’s academy has produced EFL players such as Sam McCallum and Danny NewtonBy Luke Pawley
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy’s non-league academy will not be able to run its annual training camp this summer.
Since 2018, the V9 Academy has run two successful residential camps for non-league footballers to showcase their ability and impress scouts from Premier League and Football League clubs.
This summer’s camp will not run due to a lack of funding from sponsors, with the 2018 and 2019 iterations funded largely by Vardy himself.
Defender Sam McCallum, who has recently joined Norwich City in a reported £3 million move from Coventry City, was a graduate of the academy in 2018 and is one of 20 players to have earned professional contracts via V9.
‘What V9 has proved is that there are a lot of lads in non-league who are good enough to step up if given the opportunity,” Vardy told the Daily Mail.
“Me and Sam (McCallum) as well as the other success stories from V9 have proven that. We would like to keep providing this platform for non-league players and hopefully somebody out there will show some interest in supporting V9 going forward.”
Around 100 scouts attended last year’s showcase match, which takes place at the end of the five-day camp and is held at Manchester City’s state-of-the-art training complex.
It is understood that the organisation is working hard to ensure that they operate in the summer of 2021, which would require new sponsors coming on board to cover costs, such as the full use of Manchester City’s facilities at the Etihad Campus.
Vardy’s agent and V9 co-owner, John Morris, refused to comment when approached on Monday (February 4).
