Who we are
The Youth Football Development Trust (YFDT) was established in 2012, when a group of Auckland-based parents and coaches of talented young footballers got together to organise an U-17 Youth Tournament that would attract teams and players from around New Zealand, and potentially from overseas.
The group felt that the lack of a national tournament at this age level left a “hole” in the development path for ambitious young footballers and such an event would give a large number of young footballers both a top-level national competition, an opportunity to meet and benchmark themselves against peers.
Several years on, the YFDT’s annual U17 Youth Football Tournament is firmly established as a marquee event in the national football calendar, and the Trust is focussed on its wider mandate to foster and grow youth football development through a wider range of football development initiatives for boys and girls aged 14 to 19 years.
The Trust’s goals are to:
- Work closely with national and regional agencies, Clubs, coaches and supporters to help drive the development of youth football (women and men) in New Zealand
- Encourage and support talented young athletes to build their skills, and to find a progression pathway in football which will help them achieve their aspirations
- Be an influential and supportive advocate for promising young players
The Trustees recognise that a key to its success is the strength of the Trust’s relationships with football administrators, clubs and coaches around the country. The annual U-17 tournament provides a well-established meeting place for youth football, and is a critical asset to helping it meet these wider goals.
Trustees Include:
Greg Fahey (Chair)
Andrea Monro (Trust Secretary)
John Cunningham
Blair Shaw
Nic Short
Paul Posa
What we do
While the Tournament remains YFDT’s flagship activity, the Trust has a much wider mandate to promote development opportunities for young footballers in New Zealand.
Our aim is to support, complement and add-value to the existing governance framework for New Zealand football with practical initiatives and investments that ultimately support New Zealand’s competitiveness.
Key areas of current focus include:
Enhancing competition: With a well-established franchise in the annual U-17 Youth Football Tournament – and supported by talented professional event organisers – the Trust remains interested in other Tournaments or event-based competitions it can support.
Coach Development: Quality coaching is the bedrock foundation of any young player’s football pathway and the Trust is committed to finding opportunities to assist coaches extend their professional knowledge, and obtain valuable insights and experience from around the world.
Player Assistance: There are a large number of talented young players whose families don’t have the means to support their aspirations with the costs of transport to training and games, boots, apparel, and travel to tournaments. Providing targeted assistance to these promising players is one of our aims.
Health and Wellbeing: All young footballers are driven by their passion, and to be the very best they can be. Their participation across school-based competition, clubs and player academies can often extend them too far, exposing them to fatigue and injury which can limit their development. We are focused on initiatives that will encourage young footballers and their parents recognise sustainable pathways to achievement.
11th September 2018 YFDT Announcement
Western Springs AFC stepping in with 2019 U-17 tournament hosting as we explore new and expanded format for 2020.
As you will be aware from our recent correspondence, the Youth Football Development Trust is looking to build on its successful national U-17 tournament franchise, with a view to a new and expanded format for the event in 2020. We will be shortly consulting with the national football community on that opportunity.
In the meantime, we are thrilled that WSAFC, home club to the tournament for six years, has offered to host a one-off 2019 tournament, assisting us with continuity through this transition.
We would strongly encourage you to participate in the 2019 tournament. Please ensure you direct your response to u17s@wsafc.org.nz or refer to the WSAFC website for further information www.wsafc.org.nz.
We look forward to being in touch about our 2020 plans over the coming weeks.
8th August 2018 YFDT Announcement
2019 U-17 TOURNAMENT ‘on hold’
As usual we have been receiving a lot of enquiries about dates for the Youth Football Development Trust’s (YFDT) 2019 U-17 Tournament.
We have written to the participating Clubs to advise that the YFDT has decided to put next year’s tournament on hold, allowing the Trust more time to consult with clubs, along with Federations and major franchises, on a new and larger format for the annual event, restarting in March 2020.
With increasing demand from Clubs around the country wanting to participate in the Tournament, along with a desire to secure a more sustainable funding base into the future, the YFDT is interested in scaling up the Tournament, with a possible round robin competition held in centres around the country in the weeks leading up to a national championship event.
The Trust has had preliminary discussions with a number of parties about a refreshed format, and there seems to be solid interest, both from a participation and funding perspective.
We will be seeking to consolidate this interest with a survey of Club officials, coaches and managers over the coming months, and would value your input and ideas into this new approach.
In the meantime, thank you for your interest in the 2019 event. We are sorry to postpone it next year, but we are excited about the possibilities of building on the Tournament’s success and creating an even bigger and better tournament experience for players from 2020.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your feedback and ideas at any stage.
Best regards,
Greg Fahey
Chair
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Trust funding supporters
