Valentine Sports Park hosts Australian Under 17’s hit-out

As part of the ongoing Australian Under 17 Joeys Talent ID, Head Coach Trevor Morgan, Assistant Coach Mike Cooper and Goalkeeping Coach Brody Crane conducted a training session and an Elite Match at Valentine Sports Park on Wednesday 12^th February.

Last September, the U15 Joeys qualified through a tournament in Vietnam in 2019 and are now looking forward to competing in the AFC U16 Championships this September in Bahrain with the Talent Support Program and Elite Matches program forming an important part of the player development calendar.

Football NSW Player Development Manager, Drew Taylor was pleased with how the evening unfolded at Football NSW’s headquarters.

“The FFA Elite Matches are another important way in which Football NSW can support the National Teams Unit in identifying players within HAL Academies, the Talent Support Program and NPL Clubs.

“It was great to see a number of players who had been identified through the TSP and the scouting work being done by our TSP staff within their zones involved, including some who were brought into this match off the back of their performances at the recent TSP tournament held in January.”

Australian U17 Joeys Head Coach Trevor Morgan commented on the positive collaboration between Football NSW and FFA in bringing the game to life.

“Great job by Football NSW and much appreciated accommodating the match and ensuring it went ahead with all of the weather issues.

“Those present will have noted the presence of Socceroos staff Andrew Clark, Fabian Ehrmann and John Crawley, as well as Kevin Grima – Boys Youth Development Manager, Sean Douglas – National Coach Education Manager and candidates from the A-Licence currently being held at VSP.

Football NSW TSP staff were also on hand to work with Joeys staff on improving Talent ID.

“We also had the services of two FFA staff physios in Andrew Hughes and Will Thom to assist with pre-match prep, post-match cool down and deal with any injuries.

“This presents a good picture of our level of commitment and cooperation across the football ecosystem with a genuine desire to give the young players the best environment.

“Thank you also to those Clubs who provided players for this Elite Match. We intend to hold further Elite Match nights this year and would appreciate your support and feedback to ensure we are not missing players who are consistently performing at club level.

It would be great if they were recommended for TSP and could play in regularly scheduled matches run by Football NSW, if they are not already involved.”

Congratulations to those players invited into the Elite Match: