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25 May, 2021

Academy Category 1 status secured

On this day in 2021 Forest secure Category 1 Academy status.

Club milestones

Major administrative or ownership milestone
Brennan Johnson, former Forest academy player.
Brennan Johnson, former Forest academy player. Image: OhNoNotYouAgain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forest secured a conditional licence to operate a Category 1 Academy, an important step for the club’s youth development structure.

Category 1 status is the highest academy classification in English football’s Elite Player Performance Plan. For Forest, achieving it was a statement that the club wanted to compete more seriously in the development and retention of young players.

Brennan Johnson, former Forest academy player.
Brennan Johnson, former Forest academy player. Image: OhNoNotYouAgain, via Wikimedia Commons

The timing also mattered because the academy was already becoming a source of pride. Young players such as Brennan Johnson and Alex Mighten had shown supporters that the pathway could produce first-team talent with a real connection to the club.

This was not a headline-grabbing signing or a dramatic matchday moment, but it was an important infrastructure milestone. It affected coaching, recruitment, facilities, competition level and the long-term identity of the club.

For supporters, the news offered something quietly valuable: evidence that Forest were investing not only in the next season, but in the next generation.

Academy Category One Preview

Sources

Nottingham Forest official site; Training Ground Guru

Forest timeline

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
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Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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