What To Expect
What To Expect On Trial Day
You'll probably be nervous - we get it! But please try not to worry. The emphasis at our events is on relaxing into the trial so that you can perform to the best of your ability. Typical schedule for the trial: - Greeted at the venue by Pro11 staff, who will register your attendance and issue you with a individually numbered bib. - Group welcome briefing to parents and players on what to expect on the day, then separated into age appropriate groups. - Warm up, then around 45/50 minutes of age appropriate drills at an academy level (separate sections for outfield players and keepers). Then a match! - Cool down followed by group Parent/Player debrief and notification of any club interest, plus the opportunity to get individual feedback from our coaches. During the event there are regular water / comfort breaks, but you'll be on the pitch for around 2 hours, and the whole event lasts around 3 hours. After the event, please keep in touch with us in regards to your progress, or contact us with any questions or feedback - we're always happy to hear from you!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
WHICH TRIAL LOCATION SHOULD I ATTEND? You can attend any trial event that is within approximately 90 minutes travelling distance of where you live. You can attend other locations but it would be for experience and feedback only. This is because the scouts that attend our trials are localised to each trial venue, so that they can comply with EFL rules in regards to how far players can travel to train with a professional club. So if you live too far away they wouldn't usually be able to progress you. I LIVE OUTSIDE THE UK - CAN I STILL ATTEND A PRO11 TRIAL? All the clubs that we work with require players to be resident in the UK. If you live outside the UK but are visiting here, you are very welcome to book onto a trial. But please be aware that this would be for experience and feedback only. We do occasionally offer International events specifically for players based outside of England. Please see the International Trials tab on our website for details. WHAT TRIAL LOCATIONS DOES PRO11 OFFER? Currently we host trials in the following regions: North West Merseyside North Wales / Chester Yorkshire North East East Midlands Midlands Greater London Essex Each venue covers clubs and players from up to 90 minutes travelling distance. Further details for all our currently used venues can be viewed under the Directions to Pro11 Venues tab. If you can't see the trial location you want, or need further information on locations, please contact us! WHAT IS THE CRITERIA FOR ATTENDING A PRO11 TRIAL? At Pro11 we believe that every player should have the opportunity to be viewed by pro club scouts, which is why we offer open trials. This means there is no pre-screening process and no specific criteria. If you have attended an academy or development centre previously, or played at Schoolboys or County level, that's great! But also if you’ve only played at grassroots or JPL level football and your coaches think you need to play at a higher level, then our open trials will be suitable for you. In terms of age, most of our trials accommodate players from age 7 to age 16 (u8-u16). We also host Open Age trials for players aged u16-u21, in the North West & Greater London and some of our locations also offer pre-academy sections (for players aged 6 and 7). For details of all current available events please view the calendar by clicking the 'Go To Calendar' button below. I AM A GOALKEEPER, IS A PRO11 TRIAL SUITABLE FOR ME? Yes! At our trials, Goalkeepers train in a separate group with a specialist coach, undertaking specific GK drills at an academy level. They then join their age group to play in goals for the matches section of the event. The scouts who attend our events are able to spot talent for both outfield and Goalkeeping positions. WHICH PRO CLUBS DO YOU HAVE AT YOUR EVENTS? The scouts at our trials vary from event to event. We invite clubs that are located within, or have a development centre within 90 minutes travelling distance of the venue. They re present all tiers of football, from the Premiership through to non-league clubs, and academies from category 1 to category 4. We average between 8 and 12 scouts in attendance at our events. At our Open Age trials, the scouts will be from a mixture of professional clubs, non league / semi professional clubs, and clubs which offer full time football/education routes. There will also usually be agents for domestic and international routes. At the end of each trial, during the parent / player debrief, we always let clubs know which clubs have attended and also which players they are interested in at that stage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
ARE PRO11 TRIALS OPEN TO FEMALE PLAYERS? Yes! All Pro11 Trials are open to both male and female players. We do find however that the female players are still in the minority of trialists attending so girls do have to be comfortable playing in mixed groups up to u18, as per FA guidance. We're also starting to offer girls only trials again in 2026, with trials for u12-u15 and u16-u21. WHAT IS THE COST OF ATTENDING A PRO11 TRIAL? North West, Merseyside, North Wales, Yorkshire, North East & Midlands - £70 South West/South Wales - £75 London & Essex - £84 Open Age Showcase Match Trials (u16-u21) - £84. Girls' Specific (Selected Dates Only) - £55 per player Pre-Academy Showcase - £70 per player Exit Trials - £84 per player. If you have been on a Pro11 Trial previously, we do offer a loyalty discount of £10, so please contact us for your discount code before re-booking. We also offer a sibling discount, so if you are booking for more than one child on the same event at the same time, please again contact us for a discount code. If you are a coach or agent, and have a number of players you would like to bring to a trial, we are happy to consider discounts for multiple bookings, so please feel free to reach out to us. We also reserve a minimum of 10% of our places for players who for various reasons cannot afford to pay for trials through our Hardship Scheme. If you would like to apply for a free or reduced price place please see further information under the 'Contact Us & Info' tab. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES I WILL BE SCOUTED AT ONE OF YOUR EVENTS? At Pro11, we wish all players could be given the opportunities they deserve. However the fact is that football is extremely competitive, with lots of talented players and not enough space in pro club academies for them all. We can't therefore guarantee the outcome of attending our trials is that you will be scouted. But we can make sure that you will have the opportunity to be seen by scouts and get a fairly quick result on whether there is interest for you. Overall, we average 1 in 3 players being identified at our trials by the clubs in attendance, over all playing ages and locations - see our Success Stories page for details of some of the players that we have helped along their footballing journey. IF I GET SCOUTED, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? You will normally find out on the day of the event if there has been interest for you from any of the clubs in attendance, although sometimes clubs need to come back to us with decisions. We make sure that everyone gets an email usually within 1 week, to confirm the outcome for each player. If you are successful, each club's process is different. For example, some clubs will want to come and watch the player again, usually at a grassroots fixture, whilst some will invite the player directly into the club for a training trial or showcase match. If you are identified by a club at one of our events, we will advise you specifically what will happen next in an email following your trial, usually within 48 hours. WHAT IF I DON'T GET SCOUTED? Everyone who attends one of our trials comes away with something positive. Football is extremely competitive and we recognise that unfortunately not everyone who attends our events will get interest from a pro club. So we do our best to make our events a fun and friendly learning experience. We want every player to enjoy themselves, take on board the coaching on offer, learn some new skills and overall enjoy their day with us. The trials can also be useful for assessing where a player is in terms of ability against other players, and as practice for attending future trials. Customers also find our coaches' feedback at the end of the event extremely useful for their football development. If you are not scouted when you attend one of our events, that does not necessarily mean you are not good enough. It can simply be that it just wasn’t your day, or that on the day there was not a club in your area that had space in the academy for your position or n your age group. We would encourage all players who are keen to get into a career in football to keep playing, keep improving, and keep trying, as it often takes attendance at more than one trial to be successful!
Venues for Trials
Our trials are held at various locations throughout the UK, and we are adding new venues all the time. Please check all our calendar by clicking on the button below for all active trial dates and venues. Clicking on dates in green will reveal information about the venue and ages for any particular date. All trials are held on full size, FA Approved pitches 3G / 4G pitches.