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Football Federation Australia (FFA) has confirmed its intention to enter each of their National Youth League (NYL) teams into their respective local state leagues.
The FFA’s proposed plans will dramatically impact on youth development for the nation as a whole, as well as offering a much needed boost for state league competitions.
While all signs look positive, the most important thing for the FFA is ensuring each of the NYL sides are competitive.
In the current Victorian Premier League (VPL) season we saw development side Victorian Training Center (VTC Football) enter the frame, putting up little resistance.
The side lost 20 of 24 fixtures, finishing rock bottom and conceding close to four goals a game.
This is something that must be avoided with the new format. Being demolished on a weekly basis will not help the development of Australia’s brightest talents.
When asked about the issue Football New South Wales CEO Eddie Moore said, “we want to ensure that it’s a viable option, and that the NYL side is a competitive team. I think it does need a little more work from where we are at the moment.”
A good way for the FFA to help improve squad performances and competitiveness is by allowing a specific number of overage players to play in the competition.
These players could be either players from the senior squad, players the club wants to trial or even semi-professionals who are currently playing in state leagues.
Each respective state league would expand to a minimum of 11 sides, with 15 in New South Wales, providing each competition with 20-28 rounds.
Each state league is currently run between late February with finals usually being finished by the 1st week in September.
They NYL, which scrapped its finals campaign for the 2010/11 season, would be best off starting its competition in early October, running 18 consecutive weeks, wrapping up in early February.
This gives the side roughly 10 weeks of time off for the season and at the same time the shortened NYL season saves each club upwards of $50,000 in travel, accommodation and the like.
Getting it right will no doubt be a huge challenge, but the potential for both local competitions and player development for the A-League and national side is huge.
Moore went on to say: “Building the quality coming through and hopefully the standard of the league will improve and as a result the football public’s interest will grow.”
“No doubt the task at hand is a challenging one but one that I’m enjoying. It’s a big challenge but I’m very excited about it.”
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