Australia NewsBaan: 'It's Not About Winning' |
AUSTRALIA technical director Rob Baan says the new national youth A-League is not about win/loss ratios – it's about developing better players for Australia's football future.
“As you can see from the name, it's a youth league not a reserve league,” Baan said today at the official announcement of the league for August 2008. “That that already makes clear what our philosophy is. So youth development is the main focus – as an example, each player on the list must play a minimum of 30 minutes instead of maybe nothing. It's not all about winning – it's about developing players."
The FFA will hold meetings with the youth league coaches about style of play they'd like to see in the lead up to the league kick off.
The seven team competition (Wellington Phoenix is not involved) is likely to be played as either curtain-raisers to A-League matches or at a different venue. There will only be one finals matches between the top two sides.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley added that the FFA will bear the financial brunt of the competition (around $1.5 million) with A-League clubs expecting to contribute a smaller amount to the running of their teams of around $170,000 to $300,000.
Each club has the availability to pull in their own sponsors over the time and the FFA is currently seeking a naming rights sponsor to offset the costs of running the competition.
The players will be on a minimum payment which is expected to be less than the minimum wage (around $30,000) for an A-League player although up to four senior A-League players can play in each side.
As for broadcasting the league, Buckley added: “It's not intended for the games to be broadcast but as the competition grows over time there may be an opportunity but we're not going into it with the intention that these games need to be televised as a broader entertainment package.
“These games are about identifying the best youth players in Australia and making sure they have a competition of high calibre.”
Buckley added that if any new expansion clubs wanted a youth league team the FFA would support that “but we haven't insisted on it”.
It's also planned that the A-League teams may also play in certain state leagues during the winter and/or individual players will play state league football to further their football education.
Asked about the type of football he'd like to see in the new national youth A-League Baan joked: “As you know, I'm from the Dutch mafia so we have a certain way we like to play. We like to build up from the back and we'll try to implement that.”
Have YOUR say - What do you think about "Baan: 'It's Not About Winning'"? Tell us NOW in the comment section below.
We review the ‘Ronaldo Effect’ and find out if the Portuguese superstar is missed by Manchester United, why he is so vital to Real Madrid and if we can lead his country to World Cup glory. We also chat to Xavi, Carlo Ancelotti, plus Socceroos Vince Grella and David Carney.
Have you got a scoop? Tell us about it and you could be the first to break the news on FourFourTwo.
