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Introduction: Elite Youth Development

European youth football offers a vision into the future - and UEFA makes a full contribution to the worldwide drive to produce the stars of tomorrow. One of UEFA's main priorities is to promote youth football and to encourage the development of young footballers.

UEFA's youth competitions - the UEFA European Under-19 Championship and UEFA European Under-17 Championship - feature the national youth teams from throughout Europe, with the final rounds giving talent-spotters the chance to look at the players who will shortly be gracing senior competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA European Championship.

The UEFA youth competitions are the direct successors to the International Youth Tournament, which was staged between 1948 and 1980.
Youth talent is also catered for in the women's sector. Young women footballers who perhaps have not yet made the breakthrough to their senior women's national team have been given the opportunity to show their skills on the European stage in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship and UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship.

UEFA's Football Development division under UEFA Technical Director Andy Roxburgh is responsible for élite youth development.