National Champions 2025
In 2025 our football academy were crowned national champions after a 5-0 win in the final against Gateshead. Their victory in the AoC/ECFA National Cup Final completed an incredible treble, adding to their Cheshire Cup and North West Colleges Division 1 title. Read about their incredible season click here
@priestleycollege This year’s football academy team has officially made history — the most successful squad Priestley College has ever seen. Fresh off the back of winning the national cup last week (adding to an already impressive season), we caught up with a few of the lads — and their two proud coaches — to reflect on the final, the journey, and what this moment means to them. Safe to say, it’s one for the history books. 🏆 #football #priestleycollege #tournament #winners
♬ original sound - Priestley College
Trips and Visits
The men’s football academy experiences a European tour each season, which is organised by Dom. In 2024 the academy trained with Espanyol in Barcelona for a week and in 2025 the academy visited Benfica for a week’s training camp and 2 fixtures against Portuguese opposition. The 2025/26 tour is now being organised with Real Madrid, Villareal and Inter Milan as possible destinations. The academy also visits St Georges Park, the home of the England national team, for a training session and tour with the FA coaches.
Leagues and Cup competitions
Both of our teams play in the North West Colleges Sports League. The first team compete in division 1 and the second team in division 2. Both teams are going for their 3 consecutive titles in the upcoming 2025/26 season. Both teams are also entered into the AoC National Knockout Cup, which the first team won in 2024/25 to be crowned national champions for the first time in their history. Finally, the first team also complete in the John Sleigh Cheshire County Cup. All of this see’s the academy complete in a weekly Wednesday fixture against other colleges across the region/nation.
Training
The academy trains 2 times a week, which is built into the college timetable. One training session is an open session for all academy players to complete for a place in the match day squad. The second session is a squad-only session to work on technical and tactical preparation for the Wednesday match. Each week, the teams re-set and everyone has an opportunity to train for a place in the match day squads.
Training Kit
Once selected for the academy, players are required to purchase kit for training and travelling to matches. We recommend that all players purchase at least one t-shirt, a midlayer and a training jacket. Buy your kit here > Kit King
Destinations/Exit-routes
In the last 5+ years, students have left the Priestley academy and progressed into either semi-professional football or USA football scholarships. Over 30 students have been earned a scholarship in the USA, via our sponsors and partners 219 Sports. A large number of players have progressed into semi-professional contracts with 1 or 2 receiving professional trials/opportunities after their time with us.
Coaching qualification
Priestley College offers a football-focussed coaching qualification for those interested in a career in the sport. Here’s Josh and Dom to explain more about it..
Meet the Coaches
Joshua Greaves is the men’s first team football coach. He has coached football since he was 16 and has coached college football for 13 seasons. Before working at Priestley, he worked on a post-16 football education with a Premier League club. In his six years at Priestley, he has added the following titles to his coaching resume:
- AoC National Cup Champions (2024/25)
- North West Division 1 Champions (2023/24, 2024/25)
- North West Division 2 Champions (2019/20, 2022/23)
- Cheshire County Cup Champions (2018/19, 2024/25)
Dominic Bennett is the men’s second team football coach. Dom has coached football since he was 18 and has coached in Australia for Western Sydney Wanderers FC with their youth teams. In two years working with the men’s academy, Dom has added the following titles to his resume:
- AoC Regional 7-a-side Champions (2023/24, 2024/25)
- North West Division 2 Champions (2023/24, 2024/25)
- Cheshire County Cup Champions (2024/25)