Valley Gold Advanced Centre

Collage of Advanced Centre case studies

CACT offers talented players from within their community programmes an opportunity to train each week at the Valley Gold Advanced Centre.

Valley Gold, a fan-led membership scheme founded in 1989, has agreed to support the Advanced Centre for the 2022-23 season and as a result the programme is now known as the Valley Gold Advanced Centre. Read more here.

All players selected will be coached by UEFA A and UEFA B licence coaches at CAFC Training Ground. We deliver a specialised CAFC Academy curriculum focusing on enhancing technical, physical, social and psychological abilities in players aged U5-U13s. As well as this matches will take place against local academies and CAFC Academy teams.

Unfortunately, after assessment some players will be asked to leave the centre, but most will be invited to either carry on or potentially attend a trial to try and gain a place within the Charlton Athletic Academy.

Players are selected for the Valley Gold Advanced Centre through attending one of a number of CACT Football and Sports Development programmes. Please see a list of programmes available below:

If a player within one of these programmes shows the CACT coaches signs of great technical ability, good game understanding and excellent movement skills, they may be asked to attend one of the Advanced Centres.

The Valley Gold Advanced Centre programme is just for male players at the moment, but CACT work closely with the Charlton Athletic Girls Centre of Excellence programme and any female players who attend Football and Sports Development programmes and show signs of ability will be recommended to them.

Read about some of the young people who progressed through Valley Gold Advanced Centre into the Charlton Athletic Academy: