By admin Mike Rigg, Birmingham City’s new academy technical director, has highlighted the necessity of attaining Category One classification in order to improve the quality of players coming off the Wast Hills manufacturing line.
Knighthead wants to return the Blues’ academy to Category One, and Rigg, 53, has been appointed to work alongside academy managers Liam Daish (football) and Louisa Collis (operations). The Premier League awarded the Blues Category One status in 2021, however they were downgraded after a year.
Rigg explained the significance of becoming a Category One academy to Blues TV, saying, “The Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan has created the best academies in the world.” There are only a few Category One clubs in the country—I believe there are 22. When EPPP was first announced, we were told that it was all about competing with the greatest.
“It will help us attract the greatest players. It will allow us to pit our coaches against the top coaches at other clubs, whether they are from Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, or, more locally, Aston Villa and Wolves.
“It will also help us recruit the greatest players. You can see the remarkable work that has been done here in a short period of time to modernize Wast Hills. These owners intend to be among the finest not just in the country, but also globally.
“We have some very good talent coming through the 18s and 21s, so that pipeline will need to be focused on for a longer length of time. There has obviously been an intention with the investment to ensure that we stay on top of it.”
Rigg formerly worked for Manchester City alongside Blues CEO Garry Cook before moving on to QPR, the FA, Fulham, Burnley, and Al-Jazira. Cook played a role in luring him to Birmingham, but Rigg has disclosed that first-team technical director Craig Gardner, with whom he will collaborate, also contributed.
Rigg explained: “I’ve known Craig for quite some time. Craig came in and was on the technical director’s license while I was working with the FA. Craig knows the club inside and out, and he convinced me that there is a major initiative on, and they are desperate to achieve Category One status.
“Secondly, I had previously worked with Garry Cook at a different club during a different age, and he was coming in and saying there were tremendous plans for this club. Based on what they both said in separate talks, it was a chance too excellent to pass up.”