The first of the major changes sees the ten clubs divided into two conferences; Conference A (Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar FC, Melbourne City FC, Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory) and Conference B (Central Coast Mariners, FFA Centre of Excellence, Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC). Within each conference, the teams will play each other twice over 10 rounds (4 home / 4 away – 8 matches and 2 byes per team).
The NYL will commence on the weekend of 7/8 November 2015, with the top team from each conference to meet in the NYL 2016 Grand Final on the weekend of the 23/24 January 2016.
FFA’s Head of A-League, Damien de Bohun, was excited to release the new competition format and draw for the NYL after years of development.
“The move to change the format of the National Youth League competition began in 2013 when FFA reviewed the competition structure which was finalised in July 2014. As part of this review, FFA obtained feedback from various stakeholders including Hyundai A-League Clubs, Member Federations and FFA’s National Performance and Technical Department,” said de Bohun.
“Throughout this consultation process a number of issues were identified regarding the current structure of the competition and its important role of player development. The participation of National Youth League teams in the National Premier Leagues (NPL) was seen as providing Hyundai A-League Clubs with a more effective youth development framework, without the extensive travel requirements that were deemed to be counterproductive to youth development. Taking all this into consideration, it was timely to consider changes to the National Youth League competition for the 2015/16 Season onwards.
“During the A-League Club Chairmen’s Meeting in April (2015), the new l National Youth League competition format was endorsed by A-League Clubs and then later approved by FFA’s Football Development Committee for implementation for the upcoming National Youth League 2015/16 Season onwards.
“This initiative falls perfectly in line with the goals of the National Football Curriculum and also of our recently released Whole of Football Strategy Plan,” concluded de Bohun.
FFA Technical Director, Eric Abrams, also believes that the new National Youth League format will be of great benefit to the players and clubs for years to come.
“The National Youth League has been adapted for the upcoming season in line with the elite player development pathway as we all work together to produce quality footballers for the Hyundai A-League and the National teams.
“From next season all nine Australian A-League clubs will have their youth teams will play in the relevant National Premier League competitions over the winter months against men and then come together for an abbreviated National Youth League season.
“It is an exciting step forward for football in Australia as our talented youth players will be able to take part in a coordinated “year-long” program in a consistent environment that will help develop better players,” concluded Abrams.
