The QBE Sydney Swans Academy was established in 2010. It provides a high-level junior development program and plays a leading role in building and maintaining a strong AFL culture in NSW.

There are up to 700 male and female players in the Academy each year, aged 11 to 19, and every player takes part in weekly training sessions which are age-appropriate, professional and engaging.

The Academy has eight training hubs in NSW: Sydney City, North Sydney, South Sydney, Northern Beaches, Illawarra, Central Coast, Hunter and North Coast (includes Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie).

Players from every one of those regions have progressed to the ranks of professional AFL football over the past 13 years.

Players are selected through various ways: open assessment trials, talent ID days and the Top End Benchmark program.

Squads are larger in the younger age groups then become more streamlined in the older age groups, as players who are genuine AFL draft prospects enter the QBE Sydney Swans Academy's elite pathway.   

The Academy curriculum emphasises personal development as well as sporting development, and Academy coaches instil the values of discipline, commitment and enjoyment of the game.

Our aim is to increase the number of skilled Australian football players from NSW, and to grow the national talent pool.