Penn appointed to new role of Head of Audit Development by PGAAC

Gary Penn has been appointed to the new role of Head of Audit Development by the Professional Game Academy Audit Company.

PGAAC was set up in 2018 to provide independent quality assurance of English club Academies and Penn has worked with them throughout, latterly as their Leadership and Management Auditor.

Prior to this, he worked as an EPPP Assessor for the Premier League and Double Pass, the Dutch company tasked with carrying out audits before the creation of PGAAC.

In his new role - which will be in addition to his current position as Leadership and Management Auditor - Penn will look towards the next cycle of EPPP audits and to potential improvements that could be made. The current cycle of audits finish at the end of the 2024/25 season.

The cycle was supposed to be three years, but ended up being for five because of the Covid pandemic. A number of issues are likely to be up for consideration.

Currently, club Academies undergo one full Standards Audit during each cycle. This involves a four-day visit by auditors who assess the areas of leadership and management, coaching, performance support, education, player care, safeguarding and medical, and emotional wellbeing.

Potentially, the system could be made more flexible, with Academies identified as struggling being visited more frequently to offer support and guidance, in the same way that happens with OFSTED inspections of schools.

And the audits themselves could potentially change, for example recognising the fact that areas such as player care and talent ID and recruitment have become increasingly important and prominent within Academies.

An Independent Football Regulator is also on the horizon and could potentially have involvement in this area. PGAAC is a subsidiary of the Premier League with independent governance.

The Premier League is also in the process of setting up a working group of clubs to consult on the new audit cycle.