Development of youngsters World Cup’s biggest legacy

THE 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be a complete success if it leads to the development of young players, according to Damien Comolli.

“Once the World Cup concludes, the stadiums, training facilities and memories will stay. But once you scratch the surface, what you’ve done for the development of football for the next 20-30 years will become really significant,” said Comolli.

“When the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, I went there to watch games. It was great as the Americans know how to organise events. But from then until the World Cup in Brazil, where the US had a decent run, not much happened in terms of development of the game. 

“They did create a professional league, the Major League Soccer. But have they changed the way of developing young players? No. Have they changed the way of coaching the coaches? No. Have they created a good youth development programme? No. Have they created a pathway to young players? No.

“It’s not the buildings or facilities, but its developing players, developing coaches, creating a new culture that’ll make a difference in the long term,” added Comolli. DSP