Football academies: When chasing a dream becomes a nightmare

A promising footballer from south London says being told he would never be able to play the sport he loves again was âone of the hardest things to deal with mentallyâ.
Collin Skhoyimue was signed to a League One clubâs academy just before his 14th birthday and two months into his contract, he was selected to play a match above his age grade.
But that was short-lived as he suffered an injury to the cartilage in his knee during the game and was subsequently released.
Eight years on, Collin, now 21, says it was like âsomebody taking his dream awayâ.
Itâs a familiar story. There are an estimated 1.5 million players playing organised youth football in England at any one time â but only around 180 of those will make it as a Premier League professional.
Collinâs love for football started when he was five years old.
âI remember I used to fold up socks into a ball and put it on the floor and play,â he says.
He would make football goals on both sides of his house using his mumâs shoes and, as the only player, would try to score for both teams.
When he got signed for the League One football club in December 2017, he went home to surprise his mum Sylvia.
Collin says it was âa good feeling that the hard work paid offâ and he âproved the haters wrongâ, referring to the people in his school who had doubts about him and called him names.
League One is the third tier of professional football in England, below the Premier League and the Championship.
âCollin is a very passionate boy, once he gets it in his mind âIâm going to do thisâ, heâs so determined and heâll go for it and get it done,â his mum says.
Collin was one of three young boys who were chosen to go on trial for the football academy out of 300 trialists, which he describes as âa dreamâ. He says he used his six-week summer holiday to prepare for the initial open trial.
Two months after being signed, the footballer was given the opportunity to play for the under-15s, despite being in the under-14 squad at the time.
During this match, he was passing the ball from defence and was injured when his knee collided with an opponentâs knee during a tackle.
âAfter that, my football career turned into a nightmare,â the 21-year-old says.

Despite doing rehab with his academy for six months, Collin decided to get a scan with the NHS, where doctors diagnosed him with a congenital discoid meniscus and told him he would need surgery on his knee.
He was then put on the NHS waiting list and nine months later had the operation.
Six months afterwards, Collinâs team was about to enter the under-16 season.
However, the academy manager who initially signed him for the club had left the team, meaning the new coach had not seen him play and he was released.
âOne of the hardest things about that is not that I got released because of my ability or if Iâm always late to training⊠but the reason I got released was out of my hands so there was genuinely nothing I could have done to avoid myself from getting released,â Collin says.
âJust an assetâ
âFootball is a business,â he adds. âOnce youâre playing and youâre well, everyone loves you â but when youâre on the sidelines and youâre not playing and no longer useful, theyâll just throw you out.
âAs a footballer, youâre just an asset and I think the earlier you realise that, the better.â
Despite the surgery, Collinâs problems with his knee continued and he underwent another operation. Six months later, a scan revealed that the issue had not been solved.
Collin says his surgeon then told him: âYouâve now had two surgeries⊠the issue has not been solved and you will never ever be able to play football again.â
Those last 10 words were âone of the most heartbreaking experiencesâ, says Collin.
He adds he did not go into school for a week because âhis dream was overâ.
Despite not playing football for four years, Collin did not give up hope for the game he loved.
Having finally made a recovery to his knee, he made his first appearance back on the pitch in August 2022, despite doctors saying he would never play again.
âThat was one of the best days of my life,â he says.
He then developed a love for coaching, began managing an under-7s team and started his own coaching business to âbe that person that [he] needed when [he] was youngerâ.
After being signed to a new football team and playing for one year for the full-time National League, Collin suffered another injury to his other knee and has been in recovery since December 2023.
He now hosts a series on social media called Injured 2 Pro where he shares his journey.
Collin hopes to use his story to inspire and motivate people around the world.
âIâve been through a lot and when youâve been through a lot you have a lot to give so I feel like I have a lot to give back,â he says.
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