TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Nurturing the Next Generation of Football Talent

At New Zealand Football (NZF), we believe that every player deserves the opportunity to grow and thrive in an environment that cultivates their full potential. We aim to provide young footballers with the best possible foundation to pursue their dreams, underpinned by world-class training, clear pathways, and unwavering support.

The Talented Player Pathway

Football in New Zealand has a fully integrated pathway for talented players from grassroots football, to the Ford Football Ferns, to the All Whites.

The community club and school system supported by federations, professional clubs and NZF age group programs all play a critical role in the development of talent and giving young players the opportunity to develop into professional.​​​​​​​

The Role of Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix

A-League clubs Auckland FC (AFC), and Wellington Phoenix (WPX), play a key role in the football ecosystem in transitioning the best young talent into professional footballers.

NZF invests into these development programs to ensure the player development pathway is aligned in this part of the player pathway, and to ensure NZF and the professional clubs are working together to identify and develop players who may be capable of a career in professional football and being part of the All Whites or Ford Football Ferns in the future.

NZF’s investment into the programmes delivered by AFC and WPX is focused on the three areas below to ensure the best players can either be part of programmes at no cost to the participant, to provide players with performance support in their home base if they cannot be in Wellington and Auckland and to ensure effective learning, development and connection from the professional clubs, NZF and federations down through the pathway.

AFC Development Centre and WPX Academy

Supported Player Program

Support priority players in daily training environment

Player of Interest Program

Support priority players outside the region

Learning Hub Program

Build connection with TDP clubs​​​​​​​

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About our Talent Development Programme

NZF's Talent Development Programme is designed to aid player development at club level.

The programme, for players aged 13 to 17, is run by clubs across the country in alignment with NZF, and has three core objectives:

  1. Produce better footballers in Aotearoa New Zealand by increasing the number and quality of training opportunities.

  2. Provide clear training guidelines based on international best practice for youth footballers who are showing potential to play at a higher level.

  3. Create a clear aspiration pathway for youth footballers in Aotearoa New Zealand.


Click here to read the full Talent Development Programme Manual

Playing Across Multiple Environments

NZF recognises that players can participate across multiple playing environments. Both club and school environments are valued parts of the player development pathway.

NZF has not, and will not, provide a directive to players on whether they should or should not choose to play in certain competitions. Our position is that the player should decide which environment is best for their development.

However, we encourage both female and male players capable of competing in our top domestic competitions — the Dettol National League (both women’s and men’s) and linked regional leagues, along with the Future Ferns Domestic Programme — to prioritise these environments for training and games.

Due to resourcing, NZF technical staff are not in a position to attend all environments. As a result, the national teams’ coaching staff predominantly focus on national leagues, reserve leagues (where applicable), and youth club competitions for the identification of players across Aotearoa New Zealand for U-17 and U-20 national teams.

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