The Sky Blue Trust have called for Coventry City and the Coventry Sports Foundation to work together to preserve the future of City's Academy.
The Trust have issued the following statement:
"The Sky Blue Trust recently expressed its concern and sadness at the reported news that the Allard Way facilities will no longer be available to house Coventry City’s academy when the present agreement between CCFC and the Alan Higgs Trust expires in June 2017.
We understand that the Coventry Sports Foundation, the organisation that now manages the Academy base at Allard Way, has been reported as saying that the door is still open for the club to extend its existing lease at the site. We therefore now urge all parties to work together to make this happen.
We believe that having a Category 2 academy is massively important for the future of the club. Coventry City needs to continue to attract and then develop the players who will become the future of our club. It is therefore imperative that this status, which attracts a grant in the region of £500, 000 from the Premier League, is protected.
We have seen the reported plans that Coventry Sports Foundation is looking to find an alternative use for the vital indoor pitch. Whatever the background to this is we find it a distressing development and would ask for clarification on this particular issue and the wider plans of the club with regard to the academy in terms of its immediate, medium term and long term plans.
The Trust is therefore asking both sides to spell out their intentions in this matter before irreversible decisions are taken. Is the door still open from Coventry Sports Foundation? Is the club seeking to stay at Alan Higgs Centre? Are both sides talking or willing to talk?
This is not a time for taking sides or repeatedly going over old ground. This matter is far too important for posturing and bluffing and needs resolving at the very earliest opportunity.
The Trust has fought for the Academy in the past and will do so again as it is now more important than ever and cannot be allowed to be downgraded or even disbanded.
We are happy to work with both Coventry City FC and the Coventry Sports Foundation in looking to reach an early solution to this critical issue."