A shot at the big time is the prize for 24 aspiring young footballers shortlisted for a training camp to be in the running for the inaugural PS4 Player Pathway Award.
PlayStation 4 announced the 24 footballers today who will compete for their chance to win a 2-week trial with Sydney FC’s Youth League team and the opportunity to fast-track their football aspirations.
The opportunity comes as part of the PS4 Player Pathway Award, a new initiative involving a year-long search to find the most talented young footballer in the country from Australia’s PlayStation 4 NPL competitions.
PlayStation 4, in conjunction Football Federation Australia (FFA), recognised the need to provide a further avenue for young footballers to have their talent recognised and as such in 2016 launched the PS4 Player Pathway Award.
Throughout the PS4 NPL 2016 Season, coaches from every club around the country were asked to vote on who they believed to be the top three footballers in their respective Member Federation, in accordance with a set of predetermined criteria to ensure that those players selected are those that have not recently been recognised under the traditional pathway.
Under the selection criteria, the player must be aged between 16-20 years old and must not have been registered with a Hyundai A-League club or their associated National Youth Team in the 2015/2016 PS4 NPL season. Click here for full details on the criteria and process on how the 24 players were selected.
The PS4 Player Pathway Award Camp will be held from 26-28 September 2016 at Valentine Sports Park (Football NSW headquarters), beginning with a dinner on Monday 26 September before the players get down to business on Tuesday.
The 24 selected players will be put through their paces through a series of on-field and off-field testing, whilst under the watchful eye of one of the most decorated selection panels in Australian football. Keeping a watchful eye over all of the players, as well as selecting the ultimate winner, will be a judging panel comprised of:
- Former Socceroo and current Socceroos Assistant Coach – Ante Milicic
- Former Socceroo and Hyundai A-League coach, and PS4 NPL Ambassador – John Kosmina
- Sydney FC Youth League Head Coach – Rob Stanton
- Former Socceroo, Chief Analyst for The World Game on SBS and Chairman of the PFA – Craig Foster
At the conclusion of the camp the selection panel will utilize the “Six Key Competencies” set out by FFA’s Talent Identification Program: Mentality of a “WINNER”, Emotional “STABILITY”, PERSONALITY, Physical parameters “EXPLOSIVE”, DECISION MAKING and BODY & BALL CONTROL.
All coaches and scouts from each Hyundai A-League club will be invited to attend the PS4 Player Pathway Award Camp.
Click here to learn more about the PlayStation 4 NPL initiatives.
The 24 players (three from each PlayStation 4 NPL competition around the country) invited to the camp are as follows…
NORTHERN NSW FOOTBALL
Ayden Brice
Age: 20
Club: Edgeworth Eagles
Position: Centre Back/Right Back
Favourite player: Ronaldinho
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 78
Lachlan Pasquale
Age: 19
Club: Edgeworth Eagles
Position: Central Midfielder
Favourite player: Paul Pogba
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 70
Brody Taylor
Age: 20
Club: Edgeworth Eagles
Position: Midfielder
Favourite player: Steven Gerrard
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 75
FOOTBALL WEST
Teeboy Kamara
Age: 20
Club: Stirling Lions
Position: Winger
Favourite player: Eden Hazard
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 56
Matthew Milenkovic
Age: 20
Club: Perth SC
Position: Winger
Favourite player: Paul Scholes
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 79
Lukas De Lima
Age: 18
Club: Stirling Lions
Position: Central Midfielder
Favourite player: Paul Pogba
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 61
FOOTBALL FEDERATION TASMANIA
Liam Quaile
Age: 18
Club: South Hobart
Position: Full Back/Left Back
Favourite player: Philipp Lahm
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 59
Kobe Kemp
Age: 18
Club: South Hobart
Position: Central Midfielder
Favourite player: Steven Gerrard
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 56
Tyler Harrison
Age: 19
Club: Hobart Zebras
Position: Centre Back
Favourite player: Sergio Ramos
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 60
FOOTBALL NSW
Patrick O'Shea
Age: 20
Club: Sutherland Sharks
Position: Central Midfielder
Favourite player: Cesc Fàbregas
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 60
Jonathan Grozdanovski
Age: 20
Club: Blacktown City
Position: Striker
Player: Sergio Agüero
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 70
Dominic Cox
Club: APIA Leichhardt
Position: Central Midfielder
Favourite player: Lionel Messi
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 67
FOOTBALL FEDERATION VICTORIA
Matthew Conversano
Age: 18
Club: Pascoe Vale FC
Position: Striker
Favourite player: Filippo Inzaghi
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 62
Nicholas Glavan
Age: 20
Club: Melbourne Knights
Position: Centre Half/Midfielder
Favourite player: Luka Modric
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 80
Kristian Trajceski
Age: 18
Club: Hume City
Position: Central Midfielder
Favourite player: Eden Hazard
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 70
FOOTBALL FEDERATION SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Brayden Micallef
Age: 17
Club: South Adelaide
Position: Winger
Favourite player: Alexis Sanchez
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 64
Stefan Simic
Age: 19
Club: MetroStars
Position: Winger
Favourite player: Zlatan Ibrahimović
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 70
Mamadi Kamara
Age: 19
Club: Adelaide City
Position: Winger
Favourite player: Willian
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 87
CAPITAL FOOTBALL
David Jenkins
Age: 20
Club: Gungahlin United
Position: Centre Back
Favourite player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 68
Ben Basser Silk
Age: 19
Club: Canberra Olympic
Position: Midfielder
Favourite player: Toni Kroos
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 62
Sam Smith
Age: 17
Club: Belconnen United
Position: Striker
Favourite player: Lionel Messi
Own predicted FIFA rating: 61
FOOTBALL QUEENSLAND
Jesse Rigby
Age: 19
Club: Western Pride
Position: Centre Back
Favourite player: Claude Makélélé
Own predicted FIFA player rating: 55
Joseph Duckworth
Age: 19
Club: Western Pride
Position: Central midfielder
Favourite Player: Ross Barkley
Own predicted FIFA rating: 65
Grant De Chastel
Age: 18
Club: Sunshine Coast FC
Position: Central midfielder
Favourite player: Lionel Messi
Own predicted FIFA rating: 55