DFB director Hannes Wolf has once again highlighted the need for reform in German youth football. “We have to do it better and rethink it because the others have gotten better. If that is accepted, the rest won’t be so difficult,” said the 42-year-old in the “kicker meets DAZN” podcast.
Wolf does not find the fact that there was some strong criticism of the reform in the children’s sector to be particularly problematic. “What we have now is a debate. The topic wasn’t discussed incorrectly before, but rather it wasn’t discussed at all for decades,” said the DFB director responsible for young talent, training and development. Change is never easy, but once “we understand that it is better for the children and development, we are willing to take that extra step and get used to it,” said Wolf.
The youth reform is changing the game operations from G to E youth, as tournaments with smaller teams replace the classic club duels. In the e-youth sector, however, the DFB still allows league play in seven-on-seven mode.
DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke, among others, sharply criticized some of the reforms in the youth ranks, according to which there should no longer be tables from the U6 to the U11. The managing director of Borussia Dortmund said that this was “unbelievable” and “incomprehensible”.
