Tauranga City AFC has been awarded Talent Development Programme (TDP) accreditation for the 2021 season by New Zealand Football (NZF).

The NZF Talent Development Programme provides an aligned, co-ordinated approach to the development of high potential youth footballers, aged 13-17 years. The programme outlines the standards clubs must meet as a part of gaining a New Zealand Football Regional Youth League Club License. Its main aim is to provide a challenging, structured programme for players, in an enjoyable environment that maximises player development.

"We’re very pleased to have our programmes accredited by NZ Football," said Tauranga City Chairman, Brendon McHugh. "We’ve been fortunate to have had some positive feedback and good results around the youth space recently. However to now have this from the game’s national body reinforces the approach we’re taking in developing young players."

A lot of work is required to operate the Skills Centre and Talent Development Programme in Tauranga, on the grass and behind the scenes. "One of the biggest challenges has been to develop qualified coaches as the programmes grow," explained McHugh. "We launched our TDP late in 2018 with a mixed group of about 25 players and in 2020 we had over 70 players working across five groups. We expect to add one or two more groups in 2021."

"Thanks to the staff at WaiBOP for their support through the accreditation process and to NZ Football for their feedback and encouragement more recently. Our challenge is to continue this work with a view to consistently producing players and teams capable of competing at the top level in this country and beyond."

Tauranga City's TDP accreditation is another first for the Bay of Plenty, with the club also being the first in the WaiBOP region to receive this recognition. It is something City’s Director of Football, Barry Gardiner, is proud of. “Accreditation acknowledges that NZF supports what we’re doing at the club and shows a high level of trust that we are making the right decisions for the development of our junior and youth members," said Gardiner. "A lot of work has gone into reaching this milestone by our staff on and off the field. We’re lucky to have a talented and highly qualified team of coaches who all share the same beliefs when it comes to junior and youth development.”

Mr Gardiner (NZF/OFC B License and a candidate for his NZF/OFC A Licence) is referencing the head coaching team at Tauranga City. Nic Millichip (NZF/OFC B License and a candidate for his NZF/OFC A Licence), Maia Ririnui (NZF/OFC B License) and Cameron Grieve (NZF/OFC B License). 

Gardiner added, “We focus on players' all round development but our recent results at national age group level and the NZF accreditation reinforce that our player and coach development programmes are on the right track. One of our main aims is to give youth players opportunities to be challenged against the best players around the country as well as helping the older youth players prepare for the more competitive senior environment. So it's a great reward to see these U17 and U19 titles coming back to Links Ave over the past couple of seasons."

For more on NZF's Talent Development programme, you can click HERE.