Swansea City are aiming to restore their academy to Category One status ahead of the 2027-28 season, with chief executive Tom Gorringe confirming the club has formally begun the process.

The Swans’ academy was downgraded from Category One to Category Two before the start of the 2020-21 campaign, but the club is now looking to return to the highest level as part of its long-term strategy.

In an update to supporters published on the club’s website, Gorringe revealed Swansea have officially submitted their intention to regain Category One status.

“We want an academy that attracts the best players from Swansea whilst also being a hub for the best Welsh talent and it is our hope that making this change will further support this aim,” Gorringe said.

“This club’s self-sufficiency has always historically been one of its strengths, even this pre-season that has been evident with a number of the academy graduates performing strongly with 10 of the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the Bochum game coming through our pathway.

“We want that to continue to be the case and we believe this step would give us the best chance of accomplishing that goal.”

Gorringe’s update also detailed progress on two significant infrastructure projects off the pitch.

The chief executive confirmed Swansea remain in discussions with Swansea City Council over purchasing the Swansea.com Stadium outright, while talks are also continuing over the acquisition of the club’s Fairwood training ground from Swansea University.

“Discussions over this purchase are also progressing well, however there is still some work to do before we are able to update you further,” Gorringe added.

Securing ownership of both the stadium and training ground, alongside the planned academy upgrade, would represent a major step in Swansea City’s long-term ambitions to strengthen the club’s foundations on and off the pitch.,

If you want to read more pieces from Sportin Wales, why not read to our monthly magazine here or subscribe to the magazine and newsletter at https://sportin.wales/subscribe/.

Our podcast is back for the new season and our co-founder Alex Cuthbert is in charge! You can find all the episodes here or the video versions on our YouTube channel.

You can also keep track of our pieces and videos on our socials at @Sportin_Wales on X or Sportin Wales on Instagram and Facebook.