Youngsters awards presented at 2024/25 Academy Celebration Evening
Southampton's Academy players took centre stage at St Mary's as they were congratulated at the Academy Celebration Evening, to commemorate a remarkably positive 2024/25 season for our young talent.
As well as the Under-21s having next week’s Premier League 2 play-off final to come, there have been several trophies collected both domestically and abroad throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
The Under-11s won the Corey Price Final, and the Under-12s won both the prestigious Premier League Truce Tournament and Premier League Cup competitions for the first time in the Academy’s history.
There were several other semi-final, final, Premier League National Finals and European tournament wins across all age groups throughout their respective seasons.
However, on Thursday evening the players and their families from U8s-U21s level were invited to St Mary's for an evening of celebration and presentations to recognise their individual progress and achievements, in collaboration with event sponsors TrophyMan.
Chief Executive Officer Phil Parsons and Group Technical Director Johannes Sports along with other first team staff were in attendance, as Director of Group Talent Strategy Andy Goldie, Academy Manager Duncan Fearnhead, and several Academy staff members presented the awards to Saints' youngsters and staff, past and present.
Jay Robinson and Tyler Dibling speak with Andrew Surman and Kenzie Benali on stage. (Photos: Chris Moorhouse)
Player of the Year Awards were handed out to every age group's standout performer as voted by their team mates, along with a new Saints Proud Award for players who have followed the club's values and demonstrated high standards across the season.
Additional awards given to individuals across multiple age groups, as Luca Lask took home the Under-9-12s Player of the Year, George Kift won the Under-13-16s award, whilst Jay Robinson was awarded the Under-18-21s trophy.
Commemorative framed shirts were handed out to the players that made their senior debuts in the past year, as Robinson was joined by teammates Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh and Romeo Akachukwu to celebrate their achievements.
Elsewhere, Nick Oyekunle and Tommy Dobson-Ventura were recognised for becoming the Under-18s Premier League record goalscorer and record appearance holder respectively.
This season’s nineteen international youth players were recognised for representing their nations, which kept Southampton in the top five most-represented academies across England youth squads, whilst we also celebrated the success of our loans programme and marked the new intake of Under-9s and Scholars for 2025/26.
This season's latest senior debutants from the Academy.
Off the pitch, there were six further important recipients; starting with the Legacy Award, which was presented to Julia Upson, who ran the Darwin Lodge where Saints scholars lived from 1998 until May 2010. She played a vital part in the development of hundreds of Southampton scholars and young professionals, including the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and current Academy staff Olly Lancashire and Matt Paterson, who presented Julia with her award.
The Ben Cull Award, for "showing bravery, courage and determination in the face of adversity." - named after the former Saints Academy player who tragically lost his battle with cancer in 2023 - was presented to Broghan Sewell from the Under-16s age group by Ben’s parents, Simon and Julie.
The Outstanding Contribution Award was presented to Dick Hayes, who is a well-known member of the recruitment team that has played a part in signing over 80 players during his 18 years at the club, and the Saints Proud award was handed to U15s-U21s Player Care Officer, Matt Paterson.
Finally, the Julie Batchelor Award for Academic Endeavour went to Under-16s player Lewis Day for his efforts away from the pitch and in the classroom over the last academic year.
The list of award winners in full is as follows:
Player of the Year Awards
Under 8s – Arthur Parish
Under 9s – Roman Lunn
Under 10s – Jude Cawte
Under 11s – Max Eldridge
Under 12s – Ollie Simpson
Under 13s – Benji Waters
Under 14s – Kian Lawson
Under 15s – Max Little
Under 16s – Broghan Sewell
Under 18s – Tommy Dobson-Ventura
Under 21s – Jay Robinson
Under 9-12s – Luca Lask
Under 13-16s – George Kift
Under 18-21s – Jay Robinson
Saints Proud Player of the Year Awards
Under 8s – Arthur Parish
Under 9s – Maddox Russ
Under 10s – Donatello Sserwadda
Under 11s – Tommy Vaughan
Under 12s – Arthur Lallana
Under 13s – Marcel Johnson
Under 14s – Kian Lawson
Under 15s – Bobby Martin
Under 16s – Jake Vallance
Under 18s – Tommy Dobson-Ventura
Under 21s – Sonnie Davis
Special Recognition
The Legacy Award – Julia Upson
Outstanding Contribution Award – Dick Hayes
Saints Proud Staff Award – Matt Paterson
The Julie Batchelor Award for Academic Endeavour – Lewis Day
The Ben Cull Award – Broghan Sewell
Intern of the Year Award - Jess Blandford
Goal of the Season - Ellis Christie-Adams
Save of the Season - Rex Cousens
