The FA Leadership Academy (FALA) is a 12-month learning and development programme for up to 60 young people aged 16-24. Returning in 2026 as FALA26, the programme starts with an inspiring four-day residential including workshops and activities centred around personal development and leadership.

Following this, the young people complete reflective tasks and are supported by The FA National Youth Council and a mentor to deliver a project within their local football community which positively impacts the game. This is all with the aim to aid the development of young people to unlock their potential and positively impact the football community.

FA National Youth Council member, Amit Manna, set out to explore the impact FALA has had on so many young people across it’s 10 year life span. Please read on to find out more about this amazing piece of research.

Every year, around sixty young people arrive at The FA Leadership Academy residential with passion and excitement. They develop their confidence and skills over the twelve-month programme, and graduate to go on and shape grassroots football in countless ways.

I was part of the FALA23 cohort, and like so many who have been through the programme, I could see what it was doing for the people around me. But there was no evidence to back it up. There were no numbers, no testimonials in one place, no record of where FALA alumni had ended up or what they had built… and that’s what The FALA Effect set out to change.

We began with a simple question: what has this programme actually done for the young people who have been through it?

So, we went back. We reached out to alumni from across nearly a decade of cohorts and asked them to reflect on what FALA meant to them and what it had led to.

What came back was extraordinary. 100% of those we heard from said FALA was a positive learning experience. 96% felt more confident as a result of the programme. One in two are now employed in sport, with three in ten working full-time in football. The projects participants delivered have also left a meaningful impact, with two in three believing that their project created a lasting change in football.

What I kept returning to, though, was the words the alumni used. One participant said simply: “without FALA, I wouldn’t have found myself”. Another described it as having “changed my life and redirected my career trajectory”. More than any statistic, it was these comments that emphasised for me how important FALA is and the sheer life-changing ability of the programme.

As FALA26 approaches, I hope The FALA Effect can serve as a reminder of what this programme has already built, and how much further it can go.

To find out more about the legacy of FALA, you can read the full report here.

If you have any questions on anything in the report, please reach out to the FANYC on nationalyouthcouncil@thefa.com