Bit of a side note but am I the only one nervous about AFC starting an academy? Obviously, it'd be good for NZ as a whole but for the Nix it'll mean we'll stop getting the top NZ talent. If you're a young up-and-coming footballer who's academy would you rather go to; the one that's part of a multi-club ownership program with numerous pathways to Europe or the one that doesn't?
They've got a while before their academy is fully operational to be honest - At least 1-2 years from now, hence filling out their Auckland II squad/scholarship players for NL next year, and then maybe 3-4 years total to be reaping the rewards of having an actual academy (much like the Nix setup when we started our academy). It's very much a long term game.
Not too worried about it to be honest though. Like someone has already said, players will go where they think they'll get the most opportunities and the chance to develop. It won't matter where you're from, as each player will have their own set of ambitions and targets they want to hit.
There is of course more choice now for the players which is a good thing for NZ in the medium to longer term with guys getting exposure and opportunity now that we've effectively doubled our pathway options. Choices will have to be made, but it won't be every player that both clubs are after, only the few, so it will make that process more straightforward.
More to that, Luke Brooke-Smith is the only one so far that has been lined up by both clubs as far as I'm aware, plus we've got a fantastic facility at NZCIS which will be a big draw-card too for aspirational, talented young footballers. Auckland will be a little way off with whatever they're doing in that space, but I have no doubt it will come eventually.
It won't be perfectly linear, but fairly quickly I can see a strong geographical split emerging. Youngsters north of Taupo mostly joining AFC's new Academy system, those south mostly gravitating towards the Weenix setup.
For many Mainlander parents, Auckland might as well be the moon, or at least Australia. Wellington less so. So the Nix should still get most of the Sth Island's best talent, plus the lower NI.
The Nix have a great setup at NZCIS, and recently expanded their boarding house facilities there from memory?? They have always seemed to have really good pastoral care for young out of town kids. But still leaving the home comforts at a young age, can be scary for some. Was it Max Mata who as a kid in Welly reportedly suffered really bad homesickness??
Naturally alot of Auckland parents will want their football talented offspring to stay close to home, if that's now an option. Yes it will take a few years for the Black Knights to have an Academy comparable to Weenix, but Foley won't be shy at throwing money at it. It will happen faster in the 09 than in the 04. Helped by the Nix creating the NZ template, that pathway to having a Reserve team in your local league etc etc.
Singh, Paulsen, Old & Sutton off the top of my head are some kids from the 09 who ventured south to the Nix Academy. So losing access to most of that northern talent pool, will yes affect the Phoenix in the future.
I can also see kids being recruited at a younger age like 13-14, rather than 15-17. With 2 clubs the landscape now just gets more competitive, and so the scouts will be looking ever younger. Which I think will mean that's it's even more likely that upper North Island kids mostly sign up with Auckland FC's Academy.
Also young Auckland urchins will now grow up supporting AFC. Like Ben Waine was a young Nix fan, before the dream of playing for them.
Having Ricki Herbert in the Waikato is likely a good thing for the Nix. Both Dylan Gardiner and Luke Brooke-Smith went through his RH3 Academy. He'll likely be talking to Weenix staff about any hot prospects in his patch.
And lastly what happens with national age group teams, and who the future coaching staff are etc will be very interesting. Obviously in recent times alot of Weenix kids have been in the U17s & U20s and you have had coaches from the Nix like Buckingham, Greenacre, and Temple involved with these national age group teams. What if Auckland FC now go and appoint U17s coach Martin Bullock to a role at their club? NZF will now have to be careful to be seen as neutral in the youth space, not benefiting one club over the other.
With U17 World Cups, and U16 OFC WC qualifying tourneys now becoming annual events, watch the busy activity every year around those events with staff from both NZ A League clubs attending, trying to sign up the promising talent not already in their Academies. The landscape is going to quickly change. I remember Talay joking, that he didn't want to see a 2nd NZ club, as he liked having all of NZ's best talent to himself to scout.