Overview
- Brentford earned Category One status after a Professional Game Academy Audit Company review, with the upgrade taking effect next season.
- Entry into Premier League 2 for Under-21s and the Under-18s Premier League now follows from the new classification.
- The club will keep running Brentford B as a parallel route to the first team with an international games program that includes the Robert Rowan Invitation against Paris Saint‑Germain Under‑21s.
- Category One is the top Elite Player Performance Plan tier and opens a broader schedule of games from the Under‑9 age group upward.
- Academy director David Rainford called the step an important milestone that boosts efforts to develop first‑team players with strong support for education, wellbeing, and personal growth.