The vision of the Western United Academy is to provide opportunities to the best young talent in the West and create an elite pathway for players to take the step into professional football.
The Academy has facilitated an ever-expanding list of players promoted to the A-League Men side with professional scholarship contracts, with the club debuting a number of academy stars across A-League and Australia Cup fixtures.
Western fields its two senior academy teams in the Senior and U23 age groups in the Football Victoria competition structure.
Five teams from Under 13 to Under 18 will continue the progression of United’s Junior Academy structure in 2026, providing a complete pathway for young players in the West to aspire to reach the professional game.
Submit an Expression of Interest to join the Academy in 2026
Western United’s Academy was launched in 2021, with the Senior Academy proving to be extremely successful on the pitch in NPL3. The senior team sat in third place on the table after 14 matches, just one point adrift of top spot when the season was abandoned due to COVID-19.
With the senior team finishing in third place on the table in 2022, it then defeated Goulburn Valley Suns in a play off to earn promotion into NPL2 (now VPL1). This coincided with an exciting period for the Western United Academy, with the Club launching its Junior Academy program with four new teams joining the Green and Black family in 2023.
The Under 23 team won the VPL1 U23 league in 2024, and over the following 12 months, the Academy sent three different age groups to international tournaments in South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.
In March 2023, the Western United Development Centre was launched, a specialised training support program that will gradually incorporate players aged 8-13 that aspire to be selected for the Western United Academy. Learn more about this program here.
In its short existence, the Western United Academy is already incorporating hundreds of young players in the West and preparing them for life as a professional footballer.
Western United is more than just an A-Leagues club, and the ambitious vision for the future of the academy set up will continue the Club’s aim to find the most talented players in the West.
For further enquiries on the Western United Academy, please email academy@wufc.com.au
