Jenkins disclosed that the University of South Wales campus at Treforest, where Graham Coughlan’s first team squad also practices, now houses a significant portion of the club’s academy structure.
Additionally, he has issued a warning: if the team wants to draw in more talent and continue to cultivate tomorrow’s stars, the city must provide better facilities.
Jenkins stated: “A lot of the work going on behind the scenes has involved the academy, another area of the club that has not had the club’s full attention over the years,” in a statement to supporters published on the club website.
“If we want to develop local players into our first team and get them through the age groups, it is a crucial area for the club.
“As Being a football fan myself, I love nothing more than to hear the fans yell, “He’s one of our own,” when the team is playing. That needs to be said once again, and often.
“Over the past 12 months, academy manager Luke Hussey has put forth a great deal of effort simply to maintain the academy’s operations under trying conditions.
“To put it mildly, the playing and training conditions they have had to deal with in Newport have been appalling.
“We have started to rectify that by moving part of the academy to the University of South Wales campus in Treforest in order to utilise the excellent sporting facilities on site and make us more professional in everything we do.
“We also had to undergo a strict Premier League/EFL Academy audit where we had to meet strict rules and requirements, including facilities, to maintain our Academy status. This made our move to USW a must to meet those targets.
“Our scholars (aged 16 to 18) will be moving there full-time next season, with the aim of other age groups hopefully following on,” he added.
“Our entire age group’s fixture programme from under-9s will also take place there on weekends, which will give everyone a boost and raise the level of the academy to the next level.”
Jenkins would prefer to stay within Newport and wants the city authorities to work with the club to improve what is on offer.
“The last thing we wanted to do was move part of the football club out of Newport, but the poor quality and lack of sporting facilities in Newport itself has forced our hand,” he said.
“Our first team also need better training facilities if we are to improve and develop our current players and attract new ones to the club in the future.
“I recently met with Newport Council about the situation and will be meeting with our local MP and MS next month to update them on our current predicament.”
