Building on the recommendations from the FIFA global talent development ecosystem report in 2021, Increasing global competitiveness – An analysis of the talent development ecosystem, FIFA launched the Talent Development Scheme (TDS). By providing strategic guidance, funding, and expertise, the TDS helps Member Associations (MAs) to fulfil their potential and increase global competitiveness. Each MA is supported with tailor-made strategies and resources thereby considering the unique national context, with the shared objective of giving every talent a chance.
In collaboration with the FIFA TDS, our Global Project on Talent Development in Football (GP-TDF) explores how national football associations around the world design, implement, and evaluate systems and processes to develop youth players. Conducted in close alignment with FIFA’s TDS, our project aims to globally capture good practice, generate new insights from diverse football perspectives, and develop practical tools that support more effective, efficient, equitable, and evidence-informed approaches to talent development at a global scale.
Our team – led by Professor Adam L. Kelly, and PhD students Achuthan Shanmugaratnam and Johann Lux – plays an active role in supporting the TDS through a focus on two core areas, alongside other supporting activities and projects. First, we co-develop practical resources with high-performance football experts to address pressing questions from the field. These tools help MAs make informed decisions where no universal model exists. Second, we conduct global research to better understand the talent development landscape and provide insights that can shape future policy and practice. Recently, for example, we gathered data from over 150 FIFA MAs on how they find, train, and play their top talents in the country. These insights will guide both FIFA’s strategic direction and the efforts of MAs looking to strengthen their talent development systems.
Regardless of a country’s size or success in football, FIFA believes there is a demand for all football nations to construct effective systems and approaches for talent development to increase global competitiveness and reach their full potential. This key collaboration with FIFA’s TDS forms a comprehensive stream of research and knowledge that supports national football associations in both men’s and women’s football,building stronger and more effective talent development systems. Our work supports and aligns with these shared ambitions from FIFA by investigating the global football talent development landscape, generating key insights, and maximising collective intelligence to help FIFA MAs strengthen their systems and ultimately give every talent a chance.
Project 1: Giving Every Talent a Chance? A Longitudinal and Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the FIFA Talent Development Scheme
Led by PhD student Achuthan Shanmugaratnam and Professor Adam L. Kelly, this project investigates the long-term impact of the FIFA TDS on the global football talent development landscape. Using a longitudinal and mixed-methods approach, the research explores how national football associations engage with and are influenced by FIFA’s TDS programmes and services. The project aims to understand the current global football talent development landscape, examine the relationship between FIFA’s implemented development programmes and the global talent development landscape, and evaluate the broader effectiveness of FIFA’s TDS in shaping equitable and sustainable talent pathways worldwide.
Project 2: Building Talent Development Ecosystems: A Global Analysis of National Football Associations and the FIFA Talent Development Scheme
Led by PhD student Johann Lux and Professor Adam L. Kelly, this project explores how national football associations design, implement, and evaluate their talent development initiatives. Through a series of interconnected studies, the project investigates how national football associations define priorities, implement initiatives, and operate within diverse contextual environments. One core study captures over 600 projects submitted by FIFA MAs under the TDS in 2024, offering a unique global dataset to examine how different national football associations conceptualise and operationalise talent development. Together, these studies aim to contribute to an evidence-informed framework that supports more coherent, adaptable, and context-sensitive approaches to national talent development.
