Jason Ferguson talks up snooker national academy project following Crucible deal

WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson has talked up the prospect of a national academy for snooker in England, boosting the chances of young talent emerging in the country.

Ferguson was speaking at the announcement this week that the World Championship will remain at the Crucible in Sheffield until at least 2045.

There had been suggestions that the sport’s biggest tournament could move overseas after the previous contract with the Crucible expired in 2027, but the event’s future in Sheffield has been secured for the foreseeable future.

The chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association now wants to turn attention to the creation of a national academy, potentially also in Sheffield.

The deal to keep the World Championship at the Crucible came with £35m of funding from local and central government, which he feels is a positive sign for the future of further snooker projects.

‘A national academy for the national governing body is something I’m very passionate about, to bring those young kids in the UK through and give them that elite training programme that I think they deserve,’ said Ferguson at the Crucible.

‘That is certainly a project on the horizon. We’ll work with the English Partnership, which is a separate body from us, on that project.

‘I also see the ability to grow further into community, whether it be schools programmes, university programmes. It could even take us into manufacturing, working with the universities. We’ve got advanced manufacturing here in the city.

‘This is a great place to base snooker. I think it’s going to be here for a long time, and I hope so. I hope it will be here forever.’

While a number of the biggest tournaments are still held in the UK, there is concern over the future of British snooker players.

Few of the standout young players in the professional and amateur games hail from the UK, with China producing a lot of the finest talent in the sport, while Eastern Europe is increasingly fruitful as well.

Ferguson hopes a national academy can help the production line of young players in the UK start up again.

‘We’re seeing a lot of young Chinese players coming in. China invests heavily in grassroots sports,’ he said. ‘We have a national academy in Beijing, the WPBSA. That academy has churned out players like Zhao Xintong. It does work, investment in grassroots sport.

‘We do see investment heavily in many other sports, going into training, through UK sport to Olympic medals. The fact that we sit slightly on one side, away from those multi-sport Games, we don’t actually receive the same amount of respect. What this represents here today [at the Crucible announcement], is a fundamental shift in attitudes in government, in what sports matter to the people.

‘Our sport does matter to the people of this country and the people around the world, and that has been widely recognised. I see that as the beginning of what’s possible.

‘We’ve been battling, trying to create projects with Sport England for many years. We’re getting that respect. We know we can deliver.

‘We’ve built a massive global sport on next to nothing. We were running this sport on a shoestring in the early days. Even 15 years ago, when I took over the governing body, at that time our resources were so small and our income was so small, half of us were doing voluntary jobs and trying to keep things going.

‘When you see what we’ve built from nothing, and you see now that we have a fully functioning disability sport, a fully functioning women’s sport, a fully functioning grassroots programme globally, world amateur, world junior championships we’ve created pathways in every continent in the world. The sport is massive.

‘Respect to the Prime Minister, he was willing to listen, and he certainly listened and could see with his own eyes the sheer scale of the sport. So I think the door is open now to go and look at a national academy. Perhaps that will be here in Sheffield, I hope so.’

Minister for Sport, Stephanie Peacock, told Metro of the plan for a national academy: ‘It sounds very exciting. The fact that the World Championships are staying here in Sheffield will only be a boost to the prominence of the sport. And the fact that there are a number of academies across Sheffield, home to some of the most well-known players from across the world.

‘The fact that the Prime Minister was here a few weeks ago to encourage partners to get around the table and to look for a deal, I think just shows the strength and support that the government has had.’

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