Football Federation Australia and A-League clubs are considering scrapping the National Youth League and replacing it with a reserves competition in an attempt to improve player pathways in club football.
A proposal has been put forward to the clubs and organisations in recent weeks that will see the eight-game NYL scrapped in favour of an Under-23s reserves competition that will operate alongside the A-League between October and May.
The league consists of a maximum of 10 matches for teams who reach the grand final and critics - the competition is regarded as a waste of money by several clubs - point to a lack of game time provided to the most talented youngsters in Australia.
In its place, an under-23 reserve league, which could consist of as many as 20 games before finals, could be introduced to bridge the gap between youth academies and the A-League. While still at the blueprint stage, the proposed competition would also allow for three over-age players to be included for each team to assist senior players struggling for match fitness. Initially it will only be open to A-League clubs, but future plans would allow for expansion hopefuls and aspirational state league teams to enter the competition.
The rationale hinges on having as many young players as possible exposed to the demands of professional training workloads. Under the current system, youngsters take part in the eight-game NYL before breaking, then resuming training for their participation in the state-based National Premier League systems.
There are concerns the standard of football for many A-League youth teams isn't conducive to development. Victoria and NSW are the nation's two strongest state competitions and only Sydney FC's youth team competes in the top division of its respective NPL. Perth Glory, Newcastle Jets, Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United all have youth teams in their respective top state divisions.
Australia is at risk of falling behind regional rivals in player development, largely due to the lack of match opportunities for players between the ages of 18 to 23. The 11-team A-League has only 26 games, some 12 fewer than in countries such as Korea and no professional second division for players to progress through.
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Although an interesting concept, I'd say it'd probably the latter. Would imagine the $$$ that would have to be put up to have a reserve side fly across and Tasman every couple of weeks as well as accommodation etc would be too much of a burden for Welnix to accept.
Could be a better proposition for us if they aligned the reserve competition with the A-League schedule and have the games as 'curtain raisers' - I don't think they currently do this through the NYL, although I haven't looked into it purely because the NYL setup is actually a bit of a joke and doesn't particularly warrant me wasting my time on it.
Would be good if Nix could negotiate with NZF to be able to play U23 players for the Wenix next season. Considering the young squad and getting game time for fringe first team players. Be good for the Nix and would certainly make the Wenix a bit more competitive in the Handi.