Former German international and current UEFA head of elite youth football development Andreas Beck visited the Football Federation of Macedonia, where together with the FFM professional staff he analysed ongoing projects and future plans within the Elite Youth Football programme and the FFM Academy.
Beck, who represented the German national team during his playing career, as well as Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and Turkish club Beşiktaş, is now part of the UEFA system responsible for the development of youth academies and elite football at European level.
During his visit to the „Petar Miloševski“ training centre in Skopje, Beck followed the activities of the FFM youth national teams and Academy and held several meetings with representatives of our federation regarding future support through the UEFA programme.
„In the Balkan region, people are literally born with a ball. Whether it is football, handball or basketball, there is a deeply rooted sporting culture here. But talent alone is not enough. Structure, continuity, quality work, matches and the right environment for development are needed,“ Beck said.
He pointed out that Macedonia has been part of UEFA’s pilot programme for the development of young footballers since 2014 and that progress is visible.
„What the FFM is building today is a clear and well-structured system for step-by-step development. The FFM Academy projects for players up to the age of 15 and the pilot project for players up to the age of 14 are particularly positive,“.
Beck highlighted the importance of a continuous process of working with young footballers.
„The FFM Academy (U-15) is a well-organised hybrid model that operates from Monday to Friday and provides training sessions, shared meals, competitive experience and video analysis. The pilot project (U-14) is a camp model that works with selected footballers outside the Academy and prepares them for full integration into the system next season,“.
FFM Director of Youth Categories Gjorgji Hristov stressed that UEFA is thoroughly familiar with the reorganisation of the Academy and the new development plans.
„We carried out a key reform in the Academy. While the project previously operated for two years, the aim now is for continuity to continue all the way to the first qualifiers for that generation. We concluded that, precisely in the crucial year before the qualifiers, we did not have the players in the system for long enough. That is why we want to continue with the same group of footballers, because the positive effect of the past 12 months is evident,“ Hristov said.
He announced that, starting next season, the two academies will be included in the Super Cadet and Super Pioneer Leagues for the first time, where the young footballers will play against older age groups.
„For example, the Academy’s 2012 generation will play matches against the 2011 generation. This is very important for their development. Once again, it was confirmed how significant a continuous training process is and how important it is for children to spend as much time as possible in the system. Fifteen matches with the national team alone are not enough. By participating in league matches, we will have many more games and additional room for progress,“.
Hristov added that the FFM will continue working to improve conditions for young footballers from outside the capital, through better accommodation and education conditions and a modern training process.
„We will work according to the same programme and methodology, using modern fitness and GPS methods, all with the aim of creating an even higher-quality development system for young footballers,“ stressed the FFM Director of Youth Categories.
