The Academy of Football

The Academy of Football, or just The Academy, is a nickname of the English football club West Ham United.

The title pays homage to the success of the club in coaching talented young players. The title, originally attributed to the club by the press, has since been officially adopted by the club and is displayed in several prominent places around the stadium such as being printed beside the club crest on the artificial surface surrounding the pitch at Upton Park.

The original tribute intended to reference the entire culture of the club, in much the same way as the Liverpool "Boot Room". It was not solely reserved for the education of young players but for also the development of a modern approach to football from the roots up, as inspired by the success of the Hungarian national team featuring Ferenc Puskas that had humiliated England 6–3 and the great Real Madrid side of the late 1950s that dominated the European Cup.

Read more about The Academy Of Football:  History, Relationship With West Ham United, West Ham As A "Feeder Club", Quotes

Famous quotes containing the words academy and/or football:

    The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created.
    bell hooks (b. c. 1955)

    People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.
    Don Delillo (b. 1926)