Evaluating performance reviews in elite youth football: Perspectives of players, parents, and coaches

Abstract

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of Performance Reviews (PRs) within an elite UK-based youth football academy, exploring the perspectives of players, parents, and coaches. Despite significant investment in academy infrastructures, professional transition rates remain below 1%, making the PR process a key mechanism for talent development. Adopting a qualitative approach, data was collected via focus groups with 18 players (U9–U15) and 19 parents, alongside semi-structured interviews with six academy coaches. Inductive thematic analysis revealed that while PRs are theoretically valued for goal setting and tracking development, their practical implementation is hindered by a lack of objective evaluative criteria. This absence of structure leads to coach subjectivity, player confusion, and parental anxiety regarding the fairness and transparency of selection decisions. Furthermore, communication tensions were identified; parental involvement often dominated review meetings, inadvertently marginalising the players’ voice and autonomy. The findings suggest that the current PR model may not achieve its developmental intent due to inconsistent feedback and perceived informational injustice. The study concludes that academies should adopt shared evaluative benchmarks and enhance coach feedback literacy to foster a more transparent, autonomy-supportive environment that promotes the well-being and progression of young athletes.