When the team\u2019s kick-off\u00a0at Western Springs AFC\u2019s four-day under-17s football tournament on Thursday, the prize on offer to the two best players\u00a0has the potential to be life changing. \u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because for the first time, the players voted for as best male and best female will win the chance to travel the UK to experience life at AFC\u00a0Bournemouth in the Premier League. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The two-week experience will include flights, accommodation and training alongside their age-group equivalents at AFC Bournemouth. There may also be a chance to watch a Premier League fixture, should dates allow. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The package has been organised by Auckland FC as part of their multi-club ownership model. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Director of Football at the club Terry McFlynn, says the prize is further proof of the club\u2019s commitment to developing professional player pathways for New Zealand\u2019s most talented young footballers. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re incredible grateful to AFC Bournemouth for agreeing to work with us on this initiative and to Western Springs AFC for allowing us to be a part of their tournament,\u201d says McFlynn. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a fantastic\u00a0opportunity for a couple of young footballers to experience what life is like at a Premier League club and what it takes to be successful. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise that a strong and competitive youth system here in Auckland is great for the local clubs, great for Auckland FC and ultimately, great for New Zealand football.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Auckland FC has formal agreements with seventeen clubs across the North Island as part of its Talent Development Centre (TDC), providing additional training and resources to support youth development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Western Springs AFC was one of the first clubs to join TDC pathway. It\u2019s tournament one of the biggest in the region, attracting more than 950\u00a0young players annually. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have Auckland FC and\u00a0AFC Bournemouth onboard with this amazing, potentially\u00a0life-changing opportunity for two players at our tournament,\u201d says Tracy Cunnington, Western Springs AFC Tournament Director.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reinforces our desire for this to be the premier tournament in the country at this age-group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The best two players are selected based on a points system, with points being awarded to the best players after every game. This then creates a shortlist\u00a0of players that a panel then pick from.\u00a0Due to FIFA rules, only players who are 16years or older between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 can be selected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking after the winners at AFC Bournemouth will be Sam Gisborne, Head of Academy. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great opportunity for a couple of talented young players from New Zealand and a clear demonstration of the advantages of the multi-club model,\u201d says Sam. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to hosting the pair, further developing their skills and showing them what life at AFC Bournemouth is all about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Further details on the players selected will be announced next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the team\u2019s kick-off\u00a0at Western Springs AFC\u2019s four-day under-17s football tournament on Thursday, the prize on offer to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-321892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}