Ipswich Town Head Of Academy Recruitment - Alex Kaufman ("The Birthday Bias In Football") - Episode 32

On this episode, I’m joined by Alex Kaufman who for the last four years was the Head Of Academy Recruitment at newly promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town before leaving his role a few weeks ago.

Alex talks to me about the birthday bias in football and how the month you’re born can influence your pathway into academy football. In the UK, players born in June, July and August (Quarter 4) are often competing against Quarter 1 players born up to 11 months earlier in September, creating differences in physical and emotional development.

Quarter 1 to 4 births are measured according to the start of the school calendar which operates from September to July in the UK.

In a time when most academies are not patient enough to wait for late developers to catch up. We discuss how this relative age effect influences recruitment decisions, and how Alex approaches this challenge as a Head of Recruitment.