Football Federation Australia (FFA) today released the draw for the Foxtel National Youth League 2016/17 Season.
Following on from last season’s revamped format, the competition will once again see the ten clubs divided into two conferences; Conference A (Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar FC, Melbourne City FC, Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory) and Conference B (Central Coast Mariners, FFA Centre of Excellence, Newcastle Jets, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC). Within each conference, the teams will play each other twice over 10 rounds (4 home / 4 away – 8 matches and 2 byes per team).
The Foxtel National Youth League 2016/17 Season will commence on the weekend of 12/13 November 2016, with the top team from each conference to meet in the Foxtel National Youth League 2017 Grand Final on the weekend of the 28/29 January 2017.
FFA’s Head of Hyundai A-League, Greg O’Rourke, was looking forward to the upcoming season.
“The Foxtel National Youth League has proved itself as the perfect breeding ground for future Hyundai A-League players,” said O’Rourke.
“Stemming from the rich pool of talent within the PS4 National Premier League competitions around Australia, the Foxtel National Youth League competition then provides additional development for our country’s best Under 20 players.
“It is very encouraging to see that over the past four seasons 77 players from the Foxtel National Youth League have gone on to sign Hyundai A-League contracts.
“We are looking forward to another successful Foxtel National Youth League season which will once again showcase the best young footballers in Australia,” concluded O’Rourke.
Key features of the Foxtel National Youth League 2016/17 Season Draw include:
· A total of eight (8) double headers with Westfield W-League fixtures across the season
o Round 2 (Western Sydney Wanderers FC Central Coast Mariners) with Westfield W-League Round 3 (Western Sydney Wanderers FC Adelaide United) @ Marconi Stadium
o Round 3 (Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Sydney FC) with Westfield W-League Round 4 (Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Brisbane Roar FC ) @ Marconi Stadium
o Round 6 (Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Newcastle Jets) with Westfield W-League Round 7 (Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Melbourne City FC) @ Popondetta Park
o Round 6 (Adelaide United v Melbourne City FC) with Westfield W-League Round 7 (Adelaide United v Melbourne City FC) @ Elite Systems Football Centre
o Round 7 (Melbourne City FC v Brisbane Roar FC) with Westfield W-League Round 10 (Melbourne City FC v Adelaide United) @ C.B. Smith Reserve
o Round 7 (Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers FC) with Westfield W-League Round 10 (Sydney FC v Canberra United) @ Lambert Park
o Round 9 (Adelaide United v Brisbane Roar FC) with Westfield W-League Round 12 (Adelaide United v Western Sydney Wanderers FC) @ Elite Systems Football Centre
o Round 10 (Melbourne City FC v Melbourne Victory) with Westfield W-League Round 13 (Melbourne City FC v Brisbane Roar FC ) @ C.B. Smith Reserve
· One (1) Double-Header match with a Hyundai A-League fixture
o Round 3 (Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United) prior to Hyundai A-League Round 8 (Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets) at AAMI Park -Saturday, 26 November 2016
