Rangers set to receive academy boost

QPR could receive confirmation this week that their youth academy has been given category two status.

As part of a nationwide restructure, all clubs will have academies classified from one to four.

Rangers’ School of Excellence would have been the equivalent of category three, but recent improvements to the club’s youth set-up mean they look well placed to be awarded the higher grade.

Neighbours Brentford recently learned that they have achieved category two.

QPR, whose longer-term aim is a category one youth set-up to match the likes of Chelsea, are yet to receive official news of their academy’s status.

“We’re still waiting for our assessment. My understanding is that a lot of clubs are being assessed over a period of months,” R’s chief executive Philip Beard told West London Sport.

“We’d like to get category two now and our new training ground will be built with category one in mind.

“We’ve worked hard to give ourselves the best chance of getting category two, because that’s a stepping stone to getting category one.”

See also: Talk is cheap, but Fernandes is delivering on promises

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