Con Stamocostas’ article published on Monday 14th December in FourFourTwo is titled ‘A-League Clubs Drop The Ball On Youth Development’ and refers to comments of FFA Technical Director Eric Abrams regarding the lack of youth academy structures in the A-League. The comments of Eric Abrams are totally valid and appropriate but the title of Con’s article implies a failure of A-League clubs to address youth development.
Criticism of youth development in the A-League needs to be reflected upon in context. Eric Abrams has valuable experience in Europe and his observations are valid and valued. However, the title of your article ‘A-League Clubs Drop The Ball On Youth Development’ implies that there is failure on the part of A-League clubs to deal with this important issue. It is very important to point out that the competition is still young and clubs like Perth Glory see the development of academy players as an absolute priority. Getting this right requires suitable training and playing facilities. The budget constraints on clubs in Australia also make the landscape very different from our European counterparts.
The next 10 years will see tremendous growth of the game in Australia. At grassroots, the game is exploding with more players of both genders playing football than any other sport. It is not a matter of A-League clubs 'dropping the ball,' it is a matter of picking up the pace, ensuring that we move to the next level with governance and planning in place to support long term goals.
Yes, we need to aspire to European training structures, but these structures are expensive and cannot be established overnight. Chapter 1 of the A-League has established a sport that is growing exponentially. The football novel now moves into the second chapter and a new level of professionalism. European clubs in contrast are into the third novel of a trilogy. There are passionate administrators in Australia that are destined to write a football best seller. Just give them time to craft each page.
Tony Hughes
Education Advisor
Perth Glory