The Football Association of Thailand, together with the Sports Authority of Thailand and the National Sports Development Fund Organize football Talent Identification (Talent ID) activities to develop the entire Thai youth football system. According to the curriculum invented and developed by FIFA named TDS or Talent Development Scheme, initiated by Arsen Wenger, FIFA’s Head of Football Development, under the Grow Together project over the past 1 year.
The main goal of the Talent ID activity is to provide opportunities to all talented young footballers in Thailand. Had the opportunity to enter the association’s database system. Had the opportunity to be seen by the Thai national team coaches in each age group. And finally, there was a chance to be selected to be on the national team. In the past, the association did not have a database of talented or talented athletes from all over the country to use as information for decision-making by the coaches of each national team. As a result, coaches have limited options for their athletes. This has led to the first concrete Talent ID activity being held.
The association will send its Talent ID coaches, also known as Scouts, totaling 12 people, consisting of 6 males and 6 females, to be stationed in 6 regions across the country. To perform the task of selecting talented young football players from various football competitions. in that region Whether it is the FA Thailand Youth League football competition organized by the association itself. or other youth football competitions and record the information of such athletes into the central database system of the association
Using criteria for selecting athletes that are of the same standard in every region. And there will be talented athletes in each region. Both men and women Come to practice regularly at the regional football training center. So that all youth footballers can practice with coaches from the association in the same format and method. And when there is a tournament competing on behalf of the national team of youth in various age groups. Each national team coach will have a large selection of talented athletes from the association’s database system. To be used in selecting athletes to join the national team.
In the past year 2023, there were Thai youth football players in various age groups. A total of 8,996 men and women were discovered from the Talent ID activity, and 954 people were stored with detailed information and statistics in the national team database before being selected to train with the Football Association. and were selected into the national database of talented athletes, totaling 242 people, and 34 people were selected to join the Thai national team, consisting of 17 men and 17 women.
Source: Thai News Agency
