Academy News

“How Bad Everybody Wants It. There’s A Lot of Competition.”

As we follow McDonald through his first academic year at the IHM Football Academy at Ellesmere College, it's time to catch up with him as he spends his Easter holidays with us training at the Manchester academy. Like all the other IHM squad, McDonald is now in...

The Making of a Football Training Session

Parents, players and Educational Tour Operators or study travel agents often want to know; "How does the football coaching work?" They are familiar with the format of an English lesson, but can't imagine how a coaching session will go. They can evaluate a school via...

“The big games bring the best out of people”

From Liverpool, David went up to the Scottish Highlands to play for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Inverness were in the Scottish Premier League at the time and David spent 5 years of his playing career there. David looks back on this period of his career with...

“My knees were quivering, I was terrified, but it was one of the best days of my life!”

David Raven, IHM Head Coach at Ellesmere College, describes the day he made his debut for Liverpool, the team he'd been a fan of all his life: "When I was your age I started getting recognised by the scouts. I was playing for my Sunday League team and my local school...

IHM Team Win Independent School Mini-Tournament

Yesterday, Wednesday 3 April, two teams from IHM Football Academy took part in a 7 a-side mini-tournament organised by Abbey College Manchester. ACM is a high achieving independent school, offering GCSE, A level and International Foundation Programme courses for...

“At first when I came here it was tough to adapt to the new environment.”

Mohammed has already learnt a great life lesson since arriving at IHM. When you truly believe that you can win and overcome adversity, you can make things happen for yourself. He was reflecting on the IHM squad's recent hard fought victory over League 2 Macclesfield...

“I was spotted at the Showcase in Manchester by Crewe Alexandra.”

Kasper, from Germany, is enrolled on the IHM Football Academy at Ellesmere College. Last term he attended the IHM Showcase event in Manchester where he was spotted by League 2 club, Crewe Alexandra. Kasper was surprised that h'd been successful at that event as he...

“Adam did outstanding, not only did he get the coaches to notice him, but other parents were asking who he was.”

Meet Adam, he came from his home country of Sweden to take part in our Showcase Event in April 2018. He really enjoyed the day. You can see exactly what he did here. However, as a result of his performance on the day, Adam was invited to take part in two sessions at...

4 IHM Players Invited to Trial With Cheshire Lines FC

Breaking News! 4 of the IHM squad; Marcellus, Yusuf, Unaiz and Elijah have been selected to trial with the Cheshire Lines Football Club on Saturday 30 March. Hungarian Goal Keeper, Marcell, was also invited along but was unable to attend as he is already playing for...

“Back home the girl’s (football) development isn’t that good.”

Unaizah was frustrated trying to improve her football back home in Kenya. She found that once she had finished school at 16 years of age, there was no league system in place and so nowhere for her to progress on to. She knew that the U.S. soccer scholarship system...

David Lowe – Guest Coach/Speaker

David Lowe, the head coach at Championship side Blackburn Rovers Football club, visited the academy last week to share his experience, talk to the players and lead them in a session at our new training facility. David’s career began at Northwest side Wigan athletic,...

Dave Bailey – Guest Speaker

Manchester United Football Scout Puts Players Through Their Paces The IH Manchester Football Academy students at Ellesmere college welcomed David Bailey, Manchester United Assistant Lead Phase Scout, to chat about what clubs look for in emerging talent followed by a...

Preparing for a showcase event / football trial – part 1 nutrition

Peter Hayes, Director of IH Manchester Football Academy shares important advice about preparing yourself for a Showcase event / football trial / match day. Peter explains: "Hi there everybody, this is Pete from IH Manchester Football Academy and I just wanted to bring...

More Success! Will training with Crewe Alexandra FC

Following the showcase event a few weeks ago Will Brookshaw has been invited to train with the academy at Crewe Alexandra Football Club. Will who is 14 and one of the goal keepers at the academy will now train and be assessed by the Crewe Coaching staff and pit...

IH Manchester Football Academy at Ellesmere College Hosts Showcase Day

The footballers of tomorrow were on display this week as scouts came to Ellesmere College for a special showcase event. The event, hosted at the college through its partnership with IH Manchester, a private footballing academy, saw more than 50 players put through...

Another Guest Session From A Current Pro Player!

This week saw another pro player come into the academy at Manchester to share his experience and knowledge with the young players. Brian Wilson, currently a first team player at league one side Oldham Athletic, visited the academy to lead the boys in a series of...

Academy team visits St George’s Park

This week the academy players visited the training ground of the England football team St George’s Park. Academy players were warmly welcomed by the staff and given an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the impressive £105 million, 330 acres training facility. St....

Michel’s Football & Academic Success

Michel Bou Farah studies and trained with the IH Manchester international Academy during the 2014/2015 & 2015/2016. A dedicated player and student Michel was always one to work hard and try to improve by that small percentage each week, his aim was to make a...

Premier League Ace Frank Sinclair Visits Academy

Former Premier League defender who has worked under the likes of Glenn Hoddle, Martin O’Neill, Gianluca Vialli and Ruud Gullit visited our academy at Ellesmere College to oversee training and pass on his experiences to academy players. Frank Sinclair, who helped...

Ex Manchester United super star Dwight Yorke with IH Manchester football academy players!

Here at the football Academy we are always trying to teach our players that you just never know who is watching, whatever the session or game. This week the boys have a great opportunity to train at one of Manchester United’s famous training grounds, the Cliff. The...