The first major step on the road to potential national soccer stardom commences this weekend, as youngsters in the Under 15 & 16 age group compete in the Qantas National Talent Identification Championships (NTIC).
The first major step on the road to potential national soccer stardom commences this weekend, as youngsters in the Under 15 & 16 age group compete in the Qantas National Talent Identification Championships (NTIC).
The cream of Australia-s teenage soccer talent gathers annually to compete at the Qantas NTIC, each representing their respective State, Territory or region. This year the tournament is once again being held at Sydney-s Valentine Sports Park, home of Soccer NSW. Commencing Saturday September 25 and running through to Saturday October 2, the 12 teams in each age group are split into two groups before competing in semi-finals and finals to decide the national Champion.
The Qantas NTIC allows players to potentially be identified for the Qantas Joeys, the Australian Institute of Sport or various State Institutes. It also gives state federations the opportunity to appraise their development programs, while players can evaluate their own individual skills against other elite players.
The Qantas NTIC provides a number of significant outcomes including:
- Identifying potential national youth team players,
- Identifying potential players for the AIS and State NTC programs,
- State Federations evaluate their elite development programs,
- Players evaluate their individual skills against other players,
- Identifying potential high performance referees,
- Establish a championship winning state team in each age group.
The Qantas NTIC is an integral part of the Australian development structure and many of Australia-s best players have competed in the tournament.
This year two such players, current Qantas Socceroo captain Craig Moore and former captain Charlie Yankos, will be the inaugural ambassadors for the NTIC. Each year the role will be filled by current or former elite players who have made a significant contribution to the game in this country and whom contestants at the NTIC can look to as role models or as a symbol of what can be achieved in the game.
The Qantas Joeys (Australia Under-17) squad that will attempt to qualify for the 2005 FIFA Under 17 World Championship is expected to largely be made up of talented players identified at the 2003 and 2004 editions of the tournament.
Australian National Youth Coach Ange Postecoglou who will guide the Qantas Joeys in next March's Oceania qualifying tournament said: “The NTIC is an important part of the Australian soccer calendar. This tournament is the first glimpse of the stars of tomorrow in official competition and from my point of view I can also look at those players that will be pushing for selection for the Under 17 national team.”
Participating teams are as follows:
New South Wales
New South Wales Country
Northern New South Wales
Victoria
Victoria Country
Australian Capital Territory
Queensland
Queensland Country
South Australia
Western Australia
Northern Territory
Tasmania
Queensland are current champions having won both age groups at the 2003 tournament.
The Qantas NTIC for women was held in July this year with the tournament being won by South Australia (U-17s) and Queensland (U-15s).
For full tournament information please go to the ASA website - www.australiansoccer.com.au . Click on the NTIC logo for full tournament draw, regular results updates, goalscorers, tables.
