FIFA Project Domestic Youth Competition kicks off in Curacao

FFK has been selected as one of three CONCACAF members to participate in the pilot of FIFA’s Project Domestic Youth Competition in the region. In this project FIFA supports member associations to create and manage structured competitions at youth level with consultancy, football equipment, logistics capacity-building and financial support.

FFK applied for and was granted a U-17 Competition. Today the coaches that will participate with their teams in this competition met in the FFK Building to join in a FIFA U-17 Coaching course. FIFA instructor Lenny Lake opened the course and talked about the importance of a pilot. ,,You are in a pilot. You are a model and a benchmark. You will have to be good. You cannot fail because that will have huge consequences for the future of the project. So, this is not an ordinary course. You must give back.”

With the project FIFA wants to promote male and female youth football competitions with the aim of boosting participation and ensuring a stronger pathway from grassroots to elite-level football for young players. In Curacao 17 teams will participate in the competition which will be strictly planned and implemented. Teams receive training uniforms, training material and technical support and transportation for region teams will be provided. Next month, before the start of the competition, the referees in the project will be participating in a special FIFA refereeing course to prepare the referees for the specials demands of leading a U-17 match.