Football Tasmania is proud to announce that it will partner with Football Australia to pilot a new, nationally-aligned Academy program designed to identify and develop our best young footballers across the State.
Launching next month, the Football Tasmania - Football Australia Academy is designed to refine the technical skills, tactical understanding and high-performance behaviours of talented young male and female players, guided by Football Australia’s newly-developed player and coach development pathways.
The program will provide access to highly skilled, qualified, and experienced coaches throughout the player development journey, with Football Australia working with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to formalise Australian coaching accreditations as globally-recognised qualifications.
It marks an important step in the progression of Australia’s male and female player development pathway system. It includes the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, National Youth Championships, and selection for our U17 boys and girls national teams. The Football Tasmania - Football Australia Academy also allows for the identification, progression and mentoring of talented coaches within the program.
Football Tasmania Chief Executive Officer Tony Pignata welcomed the opportunity to be part of an “exciting initiative aimed at nurturing the next generation of talent from across the State, and helping to shape the Academy program for the longer term.”
“We’re excited to be embarking on this new chapter in collaboration with Football Australia," Mr Pignata said.
“Collectively, we recognise that adopting a unified approach when it comes to identifying and developing young players, and equipping our coaches, can and will make Australian football more competitive, consistently, on the world stage.”
Football Australia Chief Football Officer, Ernie Merrick, said the program would create a football environment that is “best-in-class and caters to the needs of elite players and coaches.”
“It will create more opportunities for young players across metropolitan, regional, and rural areas of Tasmania ensuring a broader and more inclusive pathway for talent,” he said.
The Academy is a first for football in this country, with Football Victoria, Football West, and Football South Australia also co-piloting the Academy program in their respective States.
In Tasmania, the Academy will be headed by Football Tasmania Technical Director Alan Eadie.
“Under our key strategic pillar of Competitions and Pathways, the new Academy will operate in conjunction with the Talent Support Program (TSP), to develop Tasmanian players to be competitive nationally and ensure they are at a standard that puts them in a prime position for national selection,” Mr Eadie said.
“The academy will increase the number of talented players in the TSP and Academy programs and the age range of participants, with the aim of ensuring our State is well represented in national squads in future.”
Players will remain members of their current club, and train with both the Academy and their own club, while continuing to play matches with their club sides.