Challenges in youth football

Just as football never stands still, society never stops evolving, and the world in which today’s children are growing up in is very different from when their parents or grandparents were kids. In turn, the demands associated with coaching young footballers are changing, too, forcing coaches and clubs to adapt.

In a series of interviews conducted at the Blue Stars FIFA Youth Cup in 2022, the FIFA Training Centre sat down with eight highly-respected coaches and ex-players to take a snapshot of the grassroots game and discuss the biggest challenges currently facing youth football. This video presents a selection of their responses, covering a wide range of issues from the demise of street football and the financial constraints facing clubs to the advent of social media and shortages of qualified coaches and players, especially in the women's game.

Since these pieces were filmed, Heinz Moser has left FC Zürich for FC Augsburg, and Marco Otero has joined Olympique de Marseille from Valencia CF. The eight interviewees bring a wide range of backgrounds and experience to the table, and are well-placed to give an insight into the workings of youth systems across the continent.