FIFA have published a report, created in conjunction with New Zealand Football, on the talent development ecosystem in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

The report is based on analysis carried out in 2020 as part of a project looking at the high performance ecosystems of FIFA member associations. It highlights areas, both on and off the pitch, which have potential to be improved compared to global benchmarks and provides a series of recommendations to take forward. 

Andy Boyens, Technical Director at New Zealand Football, feels this is a useful piece of work for the organisation:

“We really value the input of FIFA as it enables us to get an outside expert perspective on football in New Zealand, especially to see how we are tracking against global benchmarks and learning what has been successful in other countries.

“I’m pleased to say that we have already made progress on a number of the areas highlighted in the report and we will continue to see the impact of projects like our Youth National League which has just completed its first boys and girls season. 

“We will now be taking some time to analyse everything in the report, understand how it relates to the unique landscape we have in New Zealand and then seeing how we can, alongside the football community, bring to life some of the recommendations linked to the strategy for Football in New Zealand.”

The full report, Increasing Global Competitiveness: An analysis of the talent development ecosystem in New Zealand, can be read here.

Article added: Tuesday 29 November 2022