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Internationally recognised football coach and player agent Raymond Wood says Australia can win a World Cup in the next two decades – but the game’s structure must be dramatically overhauled first.
After a career working with global powerhouses such as Liverpool, Leicester City and PSG, Wood now has his eye on the nation’s next generation of stars. Through his Euro Football Star Academy, he hopes to rectify what he believes are wrongs in the game.
The Brisbane-based academy will recruit 60 boys and 60 girls aged eight to 16 after a series of trials, then expose successful participants to elite coaching and football education, free of charge.
Wood says the cost of playing sport has left many talented young players falling through the cracks.Credit: Getty Images
The ultimate goal is to guide athletes to the game’s heights, leaning on Wood’s contact book from his time as an agent after more than 25 years in the industry.
Wood says Australian clubs’ ability to determine how prospects are mentored has been largely taken out of their hands – in direct contrast to his experiences in the Premier League.
Some federation changes, such as the National Premier League (NPL) player points system, were condemned by Socceroos greats, and will be phased out in time for the 2026 season, to accommodate at least five youth players on the match-day team sheet.
Raymond Wood speaks to a room of football hopefuls.
While the Australian Sports Commission last week announced $385 million in funding for grassroots and elite sport – including more than $6 million for Football Australia – Wood said Australia was well behind where it should be, given the wealth of talent available.
The UEFA-accredited coach said there was a “myth” in Australia that the Matildas’ success at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup meant there was a strong foundation on home soil, but the reality was those triumphs came when the majority of the squad embarked for overseas competitions.