Football NSW hosts successful Junior Development Cup
Football NSW hosted the 2025 Junior Development Cup (JDC) across two action packed days on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th of July at Valentine Sports Park.
Featuring two age groups, mixed Under 12’s and Girls Under 13’s, there were 32 teams that participated in what were great conditions for football.
The Southern Districts SFA Mixed U12 side took out the 12’s category while Girls for Goals took out the 13’s age group.
Game Leaders from Hills Association were also present while Football NSW offered to film coaches during matches to allow them to observe their touchline approach to aid in their professional development.
Various accredited students also assisted in an analysis project which looked for trends when playing out from the goalkeeper.
“We’d like to thank all the clubs for attending and offering their players the opportunity to participate in a tournament format,” said Football NSW’s Club Technical Development Manager Neil Mann.
“There was some great football on show, and we look forward to seeing how the players continue their development as they move into the youth leagues in 2026.
“The tournament gives us an opportunity to assist in the development of coaching staff and game leaders.
“Thanks go to Hills Association for providing the game leaders who were aged between 13-15, they did a great job in what was a competitive environment, and they were provided additional support by referee mentors.
“We also offered coaches the opportunity to be filmed during games to aid in the development of their matchday approach, how they convey their messages and to recognise their strengths and areas of improvement.”
For further context, JDL is a non-competitive games program. Football NSW provide a tournament format for JDL Clubs to assist in the development of the individual and to give the players a different learning experience to their usual matchday format.
