CBBC Renews The Football Academy

Zig Zag Productions has been commissioned to produce another season of the documentary series The Football Academy for CBBC.

Returning to Southampton Football Club, the series features young players from both the girls’ and boys’ teams, their families and their inspirational coaches. The new 15×30-minute series of The Football Academy builds on the stories and characters of season one.

The series will once more be supplemented with spin-off content for BBC Learning and YouTube shorts.

Andy Scott, head of entertainment at Zig Zag, said: “It’s brilliant to be returning to produce the second series of The Football Academy for CBBC, following on from the success of the first series, which brought in new football-loving viewers to the BBC. Building on this success, we are featuring more star appearances this time round, including top-level Premier League and international footballers, as well as continuing the stories of the extremely talented boys and girls training at Southampton FC’s prestigious academy. It’s also an excellent opportunity to include more from the girl’s teams at the academy following the Lionesses’ success, with a number of compelling stories set to be included from the stars of the future.”

Fabiola Wilcox, director of brand experience and communications at Southampton FC, added: “The club is tremendously proud of the work we do in developing young talent and are pleased young audiences are being inspired by our brilliant staff and players. Taking part in the first series proved to be an exciting and positive experience for everyone involved, and the series demonstrates the high levels of professionalism, dedication and energy that go into Saints Academy life. We’re delighted to have a second series commissioned and to be working with Zig Zag Productions and the BBC again.”