SINGAPORE — Following the successful first run of the ActiveSG football academy, principal and former Singapore international Aleksandar Duric has decided to expand the programme to cater to youth participants aged 13 to 16 from September onwards.

Since the academy was officially launched in May, a total of 312 children from the ages of six to 12 across five training venues — Jurong East Stadium, Queenstown Stadium, Serangoon Stadium, Woodlands Stadium and Kallang Cricket Field — have signed up to join the academy, as they underwent up to 14 training sessions over the past month. The encouraging numbers, coupled with positive feedback from the programme participants, have given Duric the confidence to further grow the academy. And the first step the 45-year-old has taken is to add on a youth programme which will be catered to aspiring footballers of an older age-group.

Speaking on the sidelines of yesterday’s ActiveSG football academy friendly tournament at Serangoon Stadium, which marked the end of the programme’s first run, Duric told TODAY: “I believe there are a lot of kids in that (13 to 16) age group that have been left out of the sport.

“There’s a gap there, because a lot of these kids are either unable to get into their school team or the national set-up. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have potential, so we want to try and hone their talent and not let it go to waste.

“But we’re also open to youths who are completely new to the game.

“We’re moving the academy forward slowly, and I’m very pleased with how we’ve done so far because I see great progress in a lot of these kids, not only in terms of their footballing skills but also their character development.”

The curriculum for the new youth programme will focus on areas such as developing a participant’s tactical insight and game intelligence, as well as incorporate more cardiovascular workouts and strength exercises to build up their level of match fitness.

In addition, coaches will also take a more conscientious approach to strengthening the character of the participants. Current ActiveSG participant Hariesh Varan, 12, welcomed the introduction of the youth programme.

“It’s a relief for me and I’m overjoyed because now I can continue my training with ActiveSG next year,” said Hariesh, who trains at the academy in Woodlands Stadium. “I’ve learnt so much from this programme and it’s greatly helped me develop my skills as a footballer. This is why even if I get into the school team next year, I’ll still want to train at ActiveSG.”

Changes are also expected to be implemented at the junior level (6 to 12 years old) for future editions of the programme, with participants now set to be grouped according to their level of footballing ability rather than age. This is done in order to ensure a better learning progression for participants.

The next run of the junior programme will begin on July 2 and will span across 10 weeks during the national school term. While the youth programme will only officially begin in September, free trials will be conducted at the five training venues over the next two months.

With the addition of the youth programme now in place, Duric revealed the next step for the academy could be to integrate an elite training session for participants who have shown potential to go far in the sport.

However, Duric admits nothing is confirmed yet, as he is keen to focus on ensuring the current set-up runs smoothly before moving on.

“It is something that I’m thinking about for the next step, which is to gather players who I see demonstrate exceptional skill, talent and character and maybe provide special coaching and sessions for them as an elite group (of players),” said Duric.

“But it’s still early, we don’t want to rush things forward, so we will wait before doing anything. First, I want to see real potential and development in the kids before identifying them as someone who could do with a more advanced programme. Ultimately, we want to give these kids a path such that they can maybe one day become a professional footballer.”

For more information about the ActiveSG football academy, you can visit https://www.myactivesg.com/start-out/children-youth/academy/football