Anchored on implementing international best practices and taking into consideration the country’s unique circumstances, FAM has established a well-structured youth development system which covers the construction of the national training centre, club academies, tactical education, competitions and coach qualifications.

BFA continues to underline its vision in youth development, which is to increase the pool of youth players in Bahrain and help them to become professional players capable of representing their national teams and playing abroad.

VFF’s commitment and rapid progress in youth development were demonstrated in FIFA and AFC competitions where they reached the Semi-final in the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship in Bahrain and qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017 as they went on to become the first Southeast Asian team to secure a point in the showpiece.

Through strong support from the Government, the TFF’s Strategic Plan, which mainly focuses on youth football with various objectives encompassing the establishment of systems, quality of infrastructure, coach qualifications and competitions, underlines their vision for football development for the period of 2016 to 2026.

The AFC Youth Panel noted the increase of top level competitions organised by the AIFF which include the AFC U-16 Championship in 2016, the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 as well as the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, underlining its determination on youth football development.

The focus on youth football of the AIFF was also reinforced as the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) Academy and JSW Bengaluru FC Academy received a two-star Academy status by the AFC Youth Panel.

AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh highlighted the significance of the AFC Elite Youth Scheme at the beginning of the meeting: “As an endorsement by the AFC, the Elite Youth Scheme is an important step in talent development that will help the Member Associations (MA) establish youth academies and training centres and to grade these as a method of improving standards and creating a bridge to the elite game.”

The AFC Elite Youth Scheme, which highlights 11 key criteria such as competitions, coaches, talent ID medical services and education, is aimed at providing MAs with Continental recognition for their elite youth programmes and to help them succeed in their efforts to nurture talented footballers.

The highly acclaimed Scheme continues to recognise efforts by MAs to develop a strong and sustainable foundation for youth football in their country.