Norwich City have moved to reassure fans of the club's commitment to its academy system, after a donation option was removed from season ticket packages.

The Canaries announced on Saturday that season ticket prices were being frozen for a fifth consecutive year, with adult prices ahead of the first payment deadline starting from £499.50.

That first deadline is Sunday, February 18, with that price working out at £21.71 per game, with the club having sold over 21,700 season tickets for the current season.

However, some supporters had questioned the lack of an academy donation option, which has featured in recent years as a £19 contribution which fans had to opt out of, if they didn't want to make the donation.

In a statement reaffirming 'the club remains totally committed to its academy and to maintaining Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) Category One status' it was confirmed that plans to help finance 'vital development work' to the facilities at Colney will be confirmed in the next few weeks.

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Managing director, Steve Stone, said: 'First of all the club wants to place on record its sincere and heartfelt thanks to the many thousands of our fans who have made generous donations to the academy in recent seasons. Without your help, we would not be in the position to see exciting players like Jamal Lewis and Todd Cantwell breaking into our first team, as we have done in recent weeks.

'Our academy and the development of talented young players coming through the youth ranks into the first-team squad is a critical part of our strategy in the seasons ahead and we are committed to maintaining category one status as part of our strong focus in this area.

'With this firmly in mind, we will be announcing the next exciting phase of development for the facilities at Colney in the next few weeks and ways in which the club's supporters can get involved in the project.'

As reported in November, City need to convert some of their youth dressing rooms into permanent structures to retain category one academy status, with further Colney redevelopment set to follow.