Technical director workshop: Shaping the player of the future
Friday, October 3, 2025
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Experts from all 55 UEFA national associations convene in Zurich to discuss elite youth development.
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Elite football is evolving rapidly, with increasing physical, tactical and technical demands.
As the speed and quality of the game rise, players and coaches must adapt – but how can national associations work to ensure young athletes are ready for the future?
This week, technical directors and development experts from UEFA’s 55 national associations gathered in Zurich to explore this question, exchanging ideas and experiences to shape the future of elite youth development across Europe.
European football’s united approach
"The interaction between UEFA and our national associations is crucial, so events like this represent an important opportunity for the community to come together and share their vision," said UEFA's chief of football development, Olivier Doglia.
"It's important that we listen to these ideas and then work as a team with our stakeholders, providing tailor-made support to ensure talented young players across Europe can reach their full potential."
National associations vary in their cultures, strategies and resources, so the chance to learn from each other is an unmissable opportunity.
"It's really beneficial to be here with all of the other associations and UEFA to see how we can improve the game," said Dutch technical director Nigel de Jong. "We all need to look towards the future, and it's great to hear different points of view from different associations with different challenges."
Sami Khedira, FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League winner, now serves as a UEFA strategic advisor on player development, and believes the organisation has a vital position at the heart of the game.
"Every country has different situations and needs, and UEFA is there to support them and help tackle those issues with tailor-made assistance," Khedira said. "Our role is to be a partner, sharing and connecting experience and knowledge, in a close relationship that builds trust and confidence."
Dive deeper into technical development
Finland’s novel approach
The Football Association of Finland (SPL), one of Europe’s smaller football associations, has adopted a unique model. Last year, they merged their elite boys’ and girls’ coaching teams into one unit, fostering a unified operational culture and shared playing principles that they believe will create better players, teams and coaches.
"Since we are a small country with small resources, we need to work effectively and efficiently, develop our staff's skills and share knowledge between national team coaches," explained the SPL's head of boys' and girls' youth national teams, Marianne Miettinen.
"We don't coach genders, we coach people. There is only one game, there is only one ball, so there's no reason that you can't approach player development structures the same way for boys and girls. Our coaches all work together, and our Under-15 girls' head coach is assistant for our Under-16 boys' team and vice-versa."
Supporting the person, not just the player
A key theme of UEFA’s development philosophy is the 'player-first mindset', which supports confidence, motivation and emotional well-being as well as athletes' technical skills.
"It's about showing an interest in what the player needs as a human, listening to them and supporting them, especially when they are struggling," explained Khedira.
"As a youth player, I had amazing coaches and I think this is crucial – we need experts at every age group who understand what the players need at every step and ensure that the player is the focus, that coaches understand their roles and don’t see themselves as more important than the player," he continued.
"When I was 17, I had a bad knee injury, and the Germany Under-19 coach, Horst Hrubesch, called me almost every day, trying to help me out and ensure I was looked after. He believed in me, trusted me and that really meant a lot."
Other discussions at the conference covered coaches' roles in injury prevention and training for peak physical performance, youth competition formats and techniques for bridging the gap between academy and senior teams.
Extending the invitation
Thanks to the UEFA Together programme, which exchanges knowledge and expertise with our sister confederations, national team coaches, technical directors and women's football leaders from around the world were also invited to the event, learning alongside and networking with their European counterparts.