YOUNG football fanatics may have a chance to progress into the big leagues, as Cheltenham Town FC’s development centre launches Monmouthshire Mini Robins.

Boys and girls between the ages of five and nine can register their interest to receive coaching sessions from a set-up within the professional English Football League.

The group will be held on Wednesday nights at Monmouth Leisure Centre, with a start date to be confirmed soon. The youngsters will be coached by the Forest of Dean’s Preston Thorne.

Andy Bevan, Football Development Manager, said: “We recently launched these Mini Robins to try to find the younger talent, earlier and better. We’re going to launch one now in Monmouth to cover the Forest of Dean area.

“It’s going really well, it’s a real opportunity for younger players. Unfortunately where we live, there aren’t any professional clubs. You’d have to go down to Newport, which puts a lot of restrictions on young players because of the cross-border compliance.

“We’ve had a lot of success with the players we’ve coached in our centres. From our centre in Hereford, we’ve had 42 players signed to professional clubs in the last four seasons.”

Andy oversees Cheltenham Town FC’s development centres. There are ones in Cheltenham, Hereford and Hartpury. The teams can use a full sized football pitch on Andy’s farm in Hereford, but they also hire facilities in Hereford, Cinderford and elsewhere in the Forest of Dean.

Successful players from the Mini Robins could eventually be signed to Cheltenham Town FC’s Academy, providing a real opportunity to become professional footballers. This was shown recently with the signing of Hugo Colcombe, Sonny Rogers and Miller Rogers.

All three progressed from their Mini Robins trials into their Development Centre playing in The Junior Premier League last season, and now into an EFL Academy.

Andy said: “Delighted to see three young footballers from our successful Mini Robins programme sign contracts for our Academy. Proof if ever needed, that there is a pathway for local talent into a professional English Football League Academy.”

The Mini Robins offers opportunities for a professional pathway into a football career, but it also offers the chance for five to nine year olds to receive extra training, with expert coaching.

Andy added: “We don’t ever take the players away from their grassroots teams. The only time a player will ever have to make a choice is if they get offered a professional Academy contract. So, even in our development centres, they can still play for their local teams.

“More than anything, we just want to offer the opportunity for players to have a chance at a professional club, that’s the great thing we want to do. To any player to take the opportunity, it’s down to them - but we want to be able to offer them a chance in our local towns.”

Players can register their interest by scanning the QR code found on the poster, or by emailing Andy Bevan via [email protected]. More information is available on social media.