While the FFA Cup has been the talk of the past week, Canberra juniors have been making their mark both internationally and on the Australian scene.
Former Gungahlin junior and ACTAS footballer George Timotheou was on Tuesday awarded a senior A-League contract by Sydney FC after months of hard work.
The defender was involved in Sydney’s 2015/16 Foxtel National Youth League championship winning side and has now been rewarded by senior coach Graham Arnold.
“It’s a dream come true to have signed professionally with Sydney FC,” Timotheou told the club.
“I’ve been a fan of Sydney FC since I was a young boy, so to sign a professional contract with my childhood club is one of the biggest highlights of my career.”
Elsewhere, Canberra junior footballers have been amongst the goals for the MIni Matildas national side, as the youngsters maintained an unbeaten start to the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship Qualifiers in Vietnam.
Canberra United Academy players Karly Roestbakken & Laura Hughes both netted this week for the side; Karly scoring in wins over Palestine and Iraq while Laura’s goal came in a victory over Hong Kong.
Looking forward, the girls have two more games, including against host nation Vietnam, also undefeated. A win against Vietnam could be crucial in securing top place in their group, with only group winners going on to next years AFC U-16 tournament.
Locally, registration is now open for Capital Football’s Term Four Skill Development Program.
The Capital Football Skill Development Program (SDP) is a football specific program for players looking to improve their four core skills: 1v1, first touch, running with the ball and striking the ball.
The SDP uses the same exercises as the Skills Acquisition Program (SAP) and appoint FFA qualified coaches to each squad. The squads available (subject to registration numbers) include U10 Boys, U10 Girls, U12 Boys and U12 Girls.
More information including pricing and registration can be found here.
During September, Capital Football will be announcing it’s squad to send to the FFA Boys National Championships in Coffs Harbour, to be held in the first week of October.
The ACT will be sending an U/13 and U/14 teams to the competition which will see some of the best youngsters in the country pitted against each other.
