Our Mission Statement
To provide elite football coaching of a professional standard to young players with ambition of progressing in the game with Dover Athletic, or other senior clubs, along with a structured academic/vocational educational programme that meets their learning needs.
How the Academy Operates
What is an Academy?
An opportunity to be coached and train full time with a National League Football Academy, whilst studying for A-Levels/BTEC level 3 courses. This will give you opportunities to develop academically as well as working towards your dream of becoming a professional footballer. It is the closest you will get to an apprenticeship at a Professional club.
Key Points
- Comprehensive technical syllabus, covering all aspects of the game
- Qualified coaching Staff to UEFA A standard
- Games programme linked to the Football National Youth League
- American Scholarship Opportunities
- Games programme in the National Youth Alliance which is the highest league outside professional football
- A Pathway to our first team Dover Athletic in the National League
What can I study?
- Anything you like from the courses in your available blocks (this means your studies will not interfere with your training)
- Please click the link below for course information
The Football Club
General Information
Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England, who play in the National League.
The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club. In the 1989/90 season, Dover Athletic won the Southern League championship but failed to gain promotion to the Football Conference as the club's ground did not meet the required standard. Three seasons later the team won this title again and this time gained promotion to the Conference, where they spent nine seasons before being relegated. In April 2008, the club won the championship of Division One South and with it, promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. The following season Dover won the Premier League title and gained promotion to Conference South.
Dover were promoted to the national league after beating Ebbsfleet in the play-off final during the 2013/14 season. They reached the play offs in the 2015/16 season. After 8 seasons, Dover were relegated from the National league in 2021-22. COVID had a huge negative impact financially for Dover Athletic and after spending 2 seasons in the National South they were once again relegated to the Isthmian Premier League. Dover currently play in the Isthmian league with a management team of former player and Assistant Manager Jake Leberl and Academy Manager Mike Sandmann.
In the 2024/25 season the first team featured 8 Academy graduates in the squad and throughout the years the number of players progressing through the Academy continues to grow.
The team usually wear white shirts and are consequently nicknamed the Whites. They have played at the Crabble Stadium since the club's formation. The club's best performances in the FA Cup were reaching the 3rd round in both 2010-11 and 2014-15, while the best performance registered in the FA Trophy, the national competition for higher-level non-league clubs, was a run to the semi-finals in the 1997/98 season.
Teams
Dover Athletic runs many teams in several categories, with the First Team being the most senior of them all. Dover Athletic’s youth set-up includes some 38 teams training from U12s to U18's.
In addition, the Academy has replaced the Reserve side. The U18 and Academy management work closely with Jake Leberl and his management team, to provide a route, for players that are good enough, to reach the very top of the Dover Athletic 'tree'.