German Youth Football Restructure
Germany’s Football Association (DFB) has taken a huge step towards developing future starts for their national side. They have revamped their competitive games programme played up to Under 11’s.
Taking on a player-centred approach, they have decided to scrap the traditional small-sided games format and adopted a unique look at providing more opportunities and challenges within their games with minimal interaction from their coaches and parents.
Vice President Ronny Zimmermann, who is responsible for children’s and youth football was quoted saying “We need to think like children, not like adults. Only children who develop fun and joy in the game will stay in football.” Encouraging an emphasis on fun and a player-centred focus.
The original format of small-sided game didn’t really suit the whole player, where you’d find the smaller, less-physical, or technical players have limited time in possession. Having coaches, parents and officials dictating the game has now been given back to the children who play it in this new style of play.
The DFB’s new regulation principles:
- Games that challenge the whole player
- Reduced game time
- Rotation for EVERYONE
- No Officials, minimal involvement from coaches & parents
- Festivals rather than single matches or leagues
- Heading eliminated (practically)
The DFB has piloted this transition over the last 2 years with all 21 regional associations, where feedback from the children was positive and more about them than the parents or coaches.
All clubs in Germany will have until the start of the 2024/25 season to introduce this new format as it will be mandatory for ALL associated clubs.
Providing young children more chances to score goals and play with the ball, is at the front of the DFB’s mindset. The new formats provide children more opportunities and repetition on all the aspects required to play the game and transition into the 11 aside game having given time, opportunities and gained more (and team) individual success.
How the new format will look
G-Youth (U6 & U7’s):
- 2v2 or 3v3 (optional)
- Pitch dimensions; 16mx20m (Minimum) – 28mx22m (Maximum)
- Maximum of 2 Substitutes
- 4 target goals: each team will defend 2 wide goals
- End zones to finish in only
- No Goalkeeper
- After each goal, both teams must rotate a player
- Game is restarted by passing in or dribbling in from where the ball goes out
Festival Formats
- 10-minute games (7 rounds maximum)
- Progression and Relegation over everyone plays everyone (provides competitive balance between the teams and less frustration for the children)
F-Youth (U8 & U9):
- 3v3 games or 5v5 (maximum dimensions)
- Target goals become optional
- Goalkeepers only introduced normal goals
- Playing time increases to 12 minutes, same principles of previous festivals
- Game is restarted by passing in or dribbling in from where the ball goes out
E-Jugend (U10 & U11):
- 5v5 or 7v7
- Throw-ins are now introduced
- Set Goalkeeper is introduced here
- Tournament format now consist of a maximum of 4 teams and playing time for each game is 2 x 12 minutes each
The biggest focus for the DFB was to provide opportunities of more touches for their younger players. The smaller game format and structure will provide this and give more chances of developing future stars for their national side. The physical dominance that is current seen in youth football will be limited and all different types of players will have a chance to excel and develop technically and psychologically.
With limited interactions from the coaches and parents, the tactical side of the game is now created and imposed by the children, as they will see and feel the game as well as be able to find their own solutions to it. Tactics directed by the coaches tend to come from a 11 aside mentality and doesn’t suit the development structure required for the progression of the youth game, many studies have proven this. A training session that has been utilised in every place we have visited is the 4-goal game, we have seen this advance into a 6-goal system. This session is excellent for getting out so many outcomes. This practice is and will always be implemented due to its ever-evolving nature, though to build a youth development programme on it is some advancement and will meet some questions and challenges.
Match Officials
With traditional officials being abolished till later formats it will both help and hinder the structure of the whole programme and may only been seen after a generation of players coming through this system. Not having officials in the younger age group games will free more up for to complete older age groups which will reduce the number of officials required across the whole of German football. The rules will be implemented by the coaches as joint masters and only intervene when necessary.
Abolishment of Heading
With the new format the games don’t require heading to take place and even though it isn’t in the rules ‘not to header’ it’s more of a case of they don’t need to. The significant difference on the size of the goal requires the ball to be played on the floor. Rules now making the players to pass or dribble the ball in stops the ball starting in the air for headers to happen. Developing the heading technique can now be performed at the later age groups when the physical development is in more process. The DFB have taken a step towards dealing with the recent research into concussion and head trauma in young children, without having to ban heading which has been imposed by other countries.
Why has this been done?
After the German national sides have failed to make much of an impact on the international stage in recent years, it was felt that though short-term success was gained after their previous intervention there was no long-term outcome. Whereas this format will help support the development of its younger players for a long time.
Since winning the World Cup in 2014 they have struggled to push on and currently sit 14th in the FIFA rankings.
1st FIFA World Cup 2014
3rd European Championships 2016
Group Stage FIFA World Cup 2018
Last 16 European Championships 2020
Group Stage FIFA World Cup 2022
3rd/2nd Nations League since began 2018
Is this something that can be replicated in the English structure?
