Explaining the host family system in the Premier League Academy and Theo Walcott’s stories about Gareth Bale

Some clubs eschew the host family approach in favor of a boarding system, where players live together in dormitories on club property, the most famous being Barcelona’s La Masia.

“There are strengths and weaknesses in both models,” says Sam Byford, head of protection at Brentford Academy.

“The reason we chose our model is because we want to give the players a real break, a geographical and psychological separation rather than living and sleeping next to the players they trained with all day.”

Adolescence is a key time for personal, physical and technical development in young footballers – if implemented correctly, managing an academy player’s living situation can move them forward.

From the age of 15, Theo Walcott spent two years living at Darwen Lodge, a boarding house run by Southampton until 2010, which the former England international credits with supporting his successful career.

Walcott lived in the hostel alongside players such as Adam Lallana, Nathan Dier and Leon Best, and shared a bedroom with five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale.

“I found it very difficult to be around other players all the time at first,” the former Arsenal winger told BBC Sport. “But the environment was built to be as if you were in a proper home.

“When you have a lot of good players in the same age around each other constantly every day, you feed off each other, always ready to do well together.

“People were just being silly sometimes. You’d come home and the lights would be out and you’d know you were in trouble because Gareth and a lot of the other guys were waiting with their underpants on their heads and hitting you with pillows! You had to rush to your room but luckily you were quick.

“Put us all together in a room now, as if we saw each other yesterday.”