What can Australia learn from Kiwi and German youth setups?

What can Australia learn from Kiwi and German youth setups?

0
SHARE

In a recent article for FourFourTwo, the FFA technical director Eric Abrams showed his discomfort with the current youth structure in Australian football, something which has desperately needed improvement over the last decade.

It is arguable that Australian football is in a stronger position now than it has ever been, with a competitive domestic league and a national side that consistently performs in Asia and at the World Cup. But according to Abrams there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, particularly in the setup of our national youth system. As it stands, around half of the clubs in the A-League have a youth academy currently implemented, with other clubs such as Melbourne Victory aiming to implement a system by the end of 2017. While all of the Australian A-League clubs have a side participating in the National Youth League, these teams are mostly seen as reserves and not sides that directly create a pathway from grassroots football to professional football.

An interesting point to note is the changes that are currently being made to the youth system in time for a 2016 start. The current season of the National Youth League is the first under its new structure, where the 10 sides are split into two conferences and teams only have to play eight matches before playing in the finals. This is a massively shortened season and one that almost feels irrelevant when compared to the other plans the FFA is implementing. From the 2016 season, the youth sides of A-League teams will participate in their respective state’s National Premier League competition, albeit at differing levels. This in the short term could cause a disconnect between the youth sides in terms of playing quality as sides like Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar get to start their youth sides in the top NPL division while Sydney and Western Sydney must start their youth sides in the second division.

However this is a smart move on the part of the FFA as it not only allows for a reduction in travel costs for the sides, which itself could be reallocated towards the development of the youth system, but it also allows for a much more varied playing experience for the youth sides, something which will only help improve the players themselves. However there is still a question as to how the Wellington Phoenix apply to this situation.

The Phoenix have been one of, if not the best youth producers in the A-League since the club’s inception in 2007. Wellington have had a youth academy in place since 2010 and has resulted in three players reaching the first team squad through this pathway in Alex Rufer, James McGarry and Logan Rogerson. They currently have a reserve side playing in the top domestic division in New Zealand since 2014 and an under-20 side that participates in the ASB Youth League since 2015. Under the watchful eye of Ernie Merrick, a larger emphasis on youth has been placed on the club and only now is it starting to pay off.

However it is still something to ponder as to how our youth system can be improved even further. Football was recently announced as the most played team sport by Australian youth so it is clear that there is a demand at the grassroots level but if Australia wants to compete on an international level, we need to make a clear pathway from grassroots to professional football and a great case study as to how to do that is by looking at the current world champions, Germany.

Germany was in a very similar position to Australia just 15 years ago as the national side crashed out of Euro 2000 dead last in their group, scoring only one goal in three matches. The nation realised they had no pathway between grassroots football and the professional foundation. As a result, Germany poured a significant amount of resources into youth development, even making it mandatory for all 18 Bundesliga clubs to have a youth academy in February 2001, before expanding it to make all 36 clubs in the top two divisions have a youth academy.

The DFB (German FA) would then rate the academies and prioritise funding depending on how good the academy is. A three-star rated academy (the highest rating which is held by academies such as Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim) would provide the largest amount of funding at an additional $550,000 per year, which to smaller clubs, is nothing to scoff at. By 2011, this system had paid off massive dividends, with at least 20% of Bundesliga players rising to the first team through the youth academy system and the average age of the league dropping from 27 to 25. This is not to mention the large amount of coaches that the new system produced as well, as the sheer demand for coaches led to Germany having over 35,000 UEFA-qualified coaches in 2013, a far cry from the reported 2,900 UEFA-qualified coaches England has.

Bayern's youth system produced these two
Bayern’s youth system produced these two

This youth system saw a significant turnaround in German fortunes, with the side finishing in the top four at every World Cup since 2002, including two World Cup finals and one victory in 2014, as well as finishes in the top four at Euro 2008 and 2012. The German side is one of the youngest and strongest in the world at the moment and it is all thanks to the sweeping measures implemented by the DFB towards its youth system.

While it is arguable Australia cannot match this success, it is fair to say that we could stand to learn a lot from the World Champions and focus more on creating a pathway to professional football rather than continuing to tread water. Australia needs to be looking outside our nation for help as to our youth development system, be it is next door in how the Phoenix have handled their youth system or overseas in how Germany helped shape a generation of footballers, but this is something we cannot afford to overlook for much longer.

What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.