ECA News

The first meeting of the ECA Youth Academies Task Force was held today at the RSC Anderlecht Youth Academy, Neerpede.

Following the launch of the ECA Report on Youth Academies in Europe in 2012, and the continuous work of the ECA Youth Working Group throughout the years, a specialised task force has recently been formed with the aim to develop a set of common good practices for Youth Academies of European football clubs.

The task force, which falls under the umbrella of the ECA Youth Working Group, is composed of experts from nine different clubs across Europe. Such diversity guarantees that the various approaches ensuing from different clubs' history, culture, location, size and financial situation are taken into account in order to build the most comprehensive framework possible.

The task force members will elaborate on the recommendations of the ECA Report on Youth Academies, notably by assessing current conditions and sharing best practices. The gathered knowledge will then be disseminated to all ECA Member Clubs in order to help them setting specific targets for their own Youth Academies. This will ultimately result in improved elite youth development programmes and academy standards.

The next meeting of the ECA Youth Academies Task Force is set to take place in spring 2017.