Blackburn Rovers F.C. Under-23s and Academy

History & Facilities

In January 1991, British industrialist and businessman Jack Walker a lifelong fan of Blackburn Rovers completed the takeover of the club. In the following years, the Brockhall Village Academy, was constructed at a cost of approximately £4.75 million. The centre included state of the art facilities on a par with top training facilities elsewhere in Europe. It includes 6 full-size pitches, indoor training facilities, an indoor running track, outdoor running "hill", a swimming pool, goalkeeper training facilities as well as accommodation for the youth players.

Blackburn Rovers India Academy

On 19 November 2010, Pune based chicken meat processing, and pharmaceutical company, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Private Limited., completed the takeover of Blackburn Rovers, under the name Venky's London Limited.^[3][4]

One of the companies early ambitions was to open an Academy back in their home nation of India. Managing director, told The Indian Express newspaper the club was planning a centre of excellence near Pune which is 100 km (60 miles) from Mumbai.

"We are getting an academy and a stadium in Pune," Venky's B. Balaji Rao was quoted as saying. "The site is near the Mumbai-Pune highway and will be ready in a year-and-a-half or two years." Rao said the academy, on the outskirts of the city, will be run exactly like a Rovers' training centre at Brockhall in northwest England, taking players from the age of 11 and 12. As of 2016 however no academy or stadium has been constructed.^[5]

Development Squad

As of 31 August 2018^[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Oliver Byrne — GK Charlie Albinson 33 GK Andy Fisher — DF Hayden Carter — DF Charley Doyle — DF Jack Doyle 35 DF Joe Grayson — DF Tyler Magloire — DF Matthew Platt — DF Lewis Thompson — MF John Buckley — MF Jack Evans

No. Position Player — MF Lewis Hardcastle — MF Brad Lyons (on loan from Coleraine) — MF Stefan Mols — MF Ben Paton — MF Joe Rankin-Costello 28 MF Willem Tomlinson — MF Jack Vale 34 FW Daniel Butterworth — FW Mitchel Candlin (on loan from Walsall) — FW Lewis Mansell 24 FW Joe Nuttall — FW Okera Simmonds

Academy (Under-18s)

As of May 24, 2017.^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Jordan Eastham — GK Ben Winterbottom — DF Lloyd Bannister — DF Sam Barnes — DF Flavien Boyomos — DF Andy Jackson — DF Maxime Loighot — DF Daniel Pike — DF Isaac Whitehall — MF Sam Burns

No. Position Player — MF Luke Brennan — MF James Connolly — MF Sam Durrant — MF Louis Khoury — MF Vilius Piliukaitis — MF Jalil Saadi — MF George Wilson — MF Chanka Zimba — FW Kyle Connell

Current/Former Rovers first teamers

Other Players To Have Made Impact Elsewhere