Southend United Renews Partnership with RicFit Through 2027

Following a successful first year, the National League club confirms a two-year extension of its partnership with RicFit.

(Southend United)

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RicFit Secures Multi-Year Partnership with Southend United Community Foundation Ahead of 2025/26 Season (Photo Credit: RicFit)

Southend United Football Club has confirmed a new two-year partnership agreement with RicFit covering the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons. The extension follows an initial year of collaboration in which the club integrated RicFit’s platform across its academy and foundation environments.

Founded in 1906, Southend United remains one of the longest-established professional clubs in English football. While rooted in tradition, the club has continually reviewed and updated its approach to player development. The renewed agreement reflects an ongoing focus on adopting systems designed to support structured development across multiple areas of athlete preparation.

During the first year of the partnership, Southend United implemented the RicFit App within its youth programmes. With the extension now in place, the club will expand its use of RicFit OS, initially through a beta deployment. The operating system is designed to help football organisations organise player performance data, manage development pathways, and support preparation processes both on and off the pitch.

A representative from Southend United said the platform has contributed to improvements in off-field structure within the academy environment:

“Having RicFit has really added to the professionalism we are after at Southend United. Climbing back up to an elite programme will take its time, but we feel as if we are hitting the ground running with our off-field support. It is far beyond what we offered at any time as a Cat 3 academy, and we hope that this is just the beginning of both partnerships. We are sure they will continue to develop and further improve all players in our system.”

— Tom Bailey, U9–16s Lead and Youth Team Coach

RicFit OS was developed by Eric Friedlander, a former professional footballer, former professional general manager, and current FIFA-licensed agent. Friedlander created the system with the goal of integrating multiple aspects of player development into a unified, scalable framework. The platform is structured around six core areas of performance: physical preparation, mental development, technical work, recovery, nutrition, and tactical understanding.

Throughout the first season of collaboration, Southend’s academy staff used the platform to assign individual programmes, review progress, and maintain consistent standards across age groups. That same campaign saw Southend United’s first team finish seventh in the National League, recording 17 wins, 17 draws, and 12 losses, with a goal difference of +11, before reaching the playoff final.

The expanded use of RicFit OS introduces centralised dashboards, performance tracking tools, and tailored development plans intended to strengthen alignment between the academy, foundation, and first-team environments.

For Friedlander, the partnership reflects an opportunity to test and refine the system within an established football structure.

“Our mission has always been to build a comprehensive football performance system,” he said. “Working with Southend United, a club with such a deep history in English football, provides valuable insight into how RicFit OS can be used across different levels of the game. The extension shows that the system has been adopted as a practical tool by players, coaches, and organisations.”

Friedlander’s professional background informed the design of RicFit OS. During his playing and management career, he observed how development processes were often fragmented, with limited alignment between physical, mental, and tactical preparation.

RicFit OS is designed to address these challenges by providing an organised off-pitch training infrastructure. The platform offers position-specific training programs and testing protocols that players can access outside of team sessions, while staff can review progress through a centralized dashboard.

By consolidating information into a single environment, the system supports structured player data that can be shared within existing recruitment and scouting frameworks. This helps enable clubs to transition away from fragmented spreadsheets and manual tracking methods, operating within a more unified development model.

Across English football, the extension adds to RicFit’s ongoing work with clubs as they navigate evolving development standards. As Friedlander puts it, “Football is changing quickly. Clubs are expected to innovate while staying true to their identity. RicFit OS gives them the tools to do both.”

More broadly, the renewed agreement between Southend United and RicFit reflects a continued shift toward data-informed and coordinated development systems, illustrating how traditional institutions are adapting to changing operational demands.

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