IT'S been called Whitlamesque: too much too soon, a drain on clubs. It's been called an overdue innovation the game has been lacking.
It's Project 22 and it starts this week.
The 22 refers to 2022 and the project's aim is to prepare elite junior players to be Australia's Socceroos and Matildas in the World Cup that year.
The elite players aged nine to 14 have been selected from each Sydney region.
The best from the Blacktown, Nepean and Granville associations will start training at Valentine Park this week.
The result is that many local clubs are not happy.
``The clubs are pissed off,'' said Blacktown and District Soccer Association president Jack Taylor.
``The idea is very good, very sound, taking players into an academy-style set-up but the clubs are unhappy about losing their best players.
``In the long run, I don't think it will work. Every scheme that has involved players leaving a club and taking out them out of the game has never worked.''
Taylor said clubs would object to not being compensated for developing players and would likely boycott games arranged against the elite squad.
Paul Bentwelzen is the main driver of the project and Football NSW's high-performance director.
``We're putting the best with the best and allowing them to train together almost on a daily basis,'' he said.
``This is the next step up.''
Bentwelzen said the players would train up to five days a week.
The younger players would play six-a-side-games against other regions and the older ones could play 11-a-side, at the project's discretion.
``Finally, we can combine a quality training environment with our own elite competition in which the goal is player development and not the win-at-all-costs mentality.''
One critic said: ``Why is it all these ideas come and go, yet the one constant remains: the distinct lack of coaches.
``Show me five technical coaches in Sydney and then find 13
more.''
Bentvelzen said there had been 120 coaches apply for the 20 positions and senior coaches had been coaching the coaches at Valentine Park last week.
One local club member was sympathetic.
``It's the way to go in the long term but it's perhaps too ambitious too much too quick,'' he said.
He said there had been disputes about directors and sponsors' sons allegedly getting preference in trials.
``You've got people saying `We'll boycott games','' he said.
``You can hear the rants of the tragic parents.''
There was no doubt about the major attraction for the chosen few.
``You don't have to pay,'' he said, comparing this with about $700 needed to play in the Blacktown association and more than $1500 needed in junior Demons teams.
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