An unusual picture presented itself to players and football fans at the U8 trial tournament in early May in Mehrnbach, which offered a glimpse of the nationwide reorientation in youth football, especially in the U6 to U10 age groups from the 2022/23 season.
Five small football pitches were marked out on the square, each with four small goals. The playing time was eight minutes before a new opponent was waiting after a short break. In total, each team played seven matches. It was a three-on-three game without a referee (the latter only applies to the U6 to U10 age groups), and there was only one field attendant on the sidelines who made sure everything ran smoothly. The decisions in the game were made by the kickers themselves. When the ball was out, there was neither a kick nor a throw-in, but you could dribble your way into the field or pass to a teammate. Smaller teams on smaller pitches lead to more ball contact, more dribbling, more goals and thus more sense of achievement for the youngsters.
Another novelty is the mandatory rotation. After two minutes, a joint whistle sounds as a sign that a change must be made. This ensures that every youngster is on the pitch for at least a quarter of the season. The times when frustrated substitute players just sat on the bench and lost their joy in football should be a thing of the past.
Three clubs took part in this test run: Mehrnbach with five teams, St. Johann am Walde with three and SPG Gurten/Geinberg with two. The clubs had to announce in advance how many teams they would take part in the competition with. After that, the tournament grid was set up. In contrast to previous tournaments, it is possible to play against the same opponent several times. The chance that a team meets a roughly equal team is very likely in this mode. What was also noticeable: There were hardly any heckling from over-motivated parents, since the short seasons mean that the overview of the scores is lost.
The fact that the new tournament form met with a lot of approval was also due to the organizer Union Mehrnbach. Youth director Raphael Wintersteiger and his team organized the competition perfectly. “We sat down a few days beforehand, discussed the procedure and set everything up in good time on the day of the match,” said Wintersteiger, who received the highest praise from regional manager Markus Glück: “There’s no better way to handle a tournament!” So that all clubs are prepared for the new competitions in autumn, they will receive eight small goals from the football association.
In summary, one can say: This type of football, which is not an invention of the ÖFB, but originally comes from Holland, has many interesting aspects.
“This is how the joy of football continues”
Many children, several playing fields, coaches as supervisors, no referees. What seems slightly chaotic at first seems to work perfectly. At least that was the case in Mehrnbach. The new system in youth football, which will be introduced across the whole of Austria from autumn, was tested there. Markus Glück, head of young talent in the western region, was also convinced of how well it works. “The children in particular were enthusiastic. Everyone gets a turn and can play football. That’s what it’s all about. This not only keeps the joy of football alive, but also keeps the children in the clubs,” says Glück.
The effort for the individual clubs to organize such tournaments in the future has increased, “but I firmly believe that it will be worth it. Mehrnbach showed what is possible with good organization. In addition, it is only a bit more difficult at the beginning, at some point it becomes routine,” believes Markus Glück, who has been involved in the planning of the Upper Austrian Football Association since the beginning of the year together with many colleagues. The man from the Innviertel had already rated the innovation positively beforehand, and his visit to Mehrnbach completely convinced him. “I’m sure that this type of tournament is a great enrichment for youth football.
I also like the fact that the coaches are only on duty as field supervisors. The children have the opportunity to organize their game themselves. They only intervene if, for example, a child is hurt. Otherwise they have a largely free hand. My impression was that the games were even fairer than usual,” says Glück, who used to play for SV Mauerkirchen himself.
Source: Nachrichten
