Melbourne Heart FC is excited to announce it will compete in Football Federation Victoria senior competition in 2013.
Melbourne Heart FC is excited to announce it will compete in Football Federation Victoria senior competition in 2013.
Heart has agreed with FFV to field a team in the wholly amateur State League Division Two (North West) and will use players drawn ostensibly from its National Youth League training squad.
The team will, like all teams in the FFV competitions, be subject to promotion and relegation and is set to use Epping Soccer Stadium as its home base in the North West.
“Our admission into FFV competition reinforces the Club-s pledge to invest in creating genuine opportunities for talented young players to break into the Hyundai A-League,” Heart CEO Scott Munn said.
“Continuity is of paramount importance in player development. This initiative affords the club-s coaches the opportunity to train and develop players for 12-months of the year based on the same principles.
“The club has opted to enter at a lower level to ensure it earns the right to compete at the top level in the state. It is also a wonderful opportunity to meaningfully engage with the heart and soul of grassroots football in Victoria where it means the most – on the playing field.”
Melbourne Heart Head Coach John Aloisi sees this as a natural step for all Hyundai A-League clubs.
“Many clubs in Europe have second teams or youth-orientated teams playing in the lower leagues of their domestic competition,” Aloisi said.
“It-s a great way to keep as many players as possible playing within the club-s structure, particularly those players who might mature later than others.
“As coaches, it is difficult to have players for a few months and then see them move on to other clubs where they may be coached in a different way or not played at all.
“By competing all year round, we have the opportunity to keep promising young players within our system to give them the match time they need and to develop them in accordance with the tactical, technical and physical needs of the A-League team.”
