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Welcome to World Footy News Wednesday, December 25 2024 @ 06:04 pm ACDT

USFooty opens U23 Revolution nominations

North America

USFooty has opened nominations for its under 23 development team, the U23 US Revolution.

The U23 Revos will play the U23 Canadian Northwind as part of the 49th Parallel Cup in Toronto Canada on the weekend of July 31. Revolution Head Coach, Matt Bishop, sees this as an important part of the preparation for the 2011 and 2014 International Cups. "The USAFL Board and American Revolution Coaching staff are constantly looking for ways to develop players that generally only have 3 years, or less, football experience. In addition players don't pick the game up until they have finished college which means they are learning the game at 22."

"There are ways to fastrack the development of players however there is nothing more important than playing experience and by the time American players gain a significant level of playing experience they are in their 30s. Any young players, aged 23 or less, interested in playing to the best of their ability and possibly representing their country at the International Cup in 2011 or beyond are encouraged to participate."

To nominate for the team CLICK HERE.

Bishop has the job ahead of him as he prepares for 2011. A lot has happened in international footy since the last cup. The AFL has invested a lot of time and effort in South Africa including sponsoring the tour by the Australian Institute of Sport (an elite development team). PNG continues to develop relations with the Queensland AFL, with many members of the team now playing in Queensland. New Zealand has also developed in leaps and bounds, recently signing a develop deal with Hawthorn.

"The most competitive teams from countries such as Papua New Guinea, South Africa and New Zealand are continually investing into developing young players to represent their country and prepare them for possible AFL careers. The only way that the Revolution will be able to compete with these teams at the International Cup will be to implement similar programs and where possible implement innovative initiatives to overcome geographical challenges," says Bishop.