UEFA recommends action plan to develop young talent in Cyprus

An action plan to develop young talent in football in Cyprus needs about ten years to bear fruit, UEFA envoys said on Thursday, speaking to the press, in Nicosia.

Howard Wilkinson and Robin Russell, who arrived in Cyprus last Monday, completed yesterday a series of contacts with stakeholders, with a view to develop a “National Football Development Plan” for the Cyprus Football Association.

As Wilkinson said, there are no shortcuts in making the results of such an investment visible, aiming to tackle the lack of young talent available to play quality football.

Wilkinson, a former English football player and manager, further noted that the presence of UEFA envoys in Cyprus is not to direct solutions, but to suggest possible ways of addressing the problem, after having talked with all people who are at the heart of the problem.
Change cannot occur overnight, he added, but noted the examples of numerous European countries who addressed the problem, amid less favorable conditions than Cyprus.

As he explained, young football talent need to be trained together with their likes by the best trainers-educators possible and in the best facilities available in order to stand a chance to play quality football in first division teams.

CFA second deputy president Andreas Santis noted from his part that after the UEFA visit, the implementation of a definite action plan is expected by June 2012.