Northern NSW Football team up with OFC to provide access to coaching development

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NNSWF

Northern NSW Football have announced a landmark partnership with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) which will see improved access to coach development material.

The agreement will allow NNSWF coaches access to the OFC’s coach development system and content through the OFC Learn Portal.

The portal is a learning community for coaches looking to further develop their knowledge, skills and positive impact on the game.

“This is an opportunity for us to build our network across Asia and the Oceania region,” NNSWF Head of Football Development Peter Haynes said via NNSWF.

“By providing access to this portal to our coaches we can help provide them more learning and development opportunities in their own time and at their leisure.”

OFC E-Learning Development Manager Sean Douglas explained OFC Learn was set up to provide an engaging and accessible approach to education, allowing learners to access information and educate themselves at a time and place that suits them.

“The beauty of this approach is that learners from all over the world can share and learn from each other,” Douglas said via NNSWF.

“That’s why we’re happy to welcome our friends from NNSWF to join the discussions and share their experiences with learners from across the pacific and all over the world. The site has been set up to facilitate this sharing, so it’s fantastic that NNSWF will contribute as part of a global learning community.

“OFC Learn focuses on coaching and refereeing but we are also hard at work creating learning opportunities for club administrative staff and medical staff. Our recent FIFA club licensing webinar for women’s football and our discussion group for physiotherapy are great examples of this.

“There is much more to come. I look forward to seeing NNSWF coaches on the site and engaging with them.”

CPD points for courses completed through the OFC Learn platform will be determined on a course by course basis and attributed to coaches once a certificate of completion is submitted to NNSWF.

NNSWF coaches can access the OFC Learn site HERE.

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Tottenham Hotspur deliver player development workshop for Football NSW

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Image credit: Football NSW

The workshop focused on sharing knowledge and insights regarding player development, bringing together more than 120 coaches from across NSW with those from Tottenham Hotspur.

 

Experience, insight and education

Valentine Sports Park hosted the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) workshop, uniting Football NSW coaches and members of Tottenham Hotspur’s coaching staff to encourage discussion and learning opportunities about player development.

Tottenham’s player development pathway – from the academy to the first team – has produced some of the most respected names in Premier League history, including Harry Kane and Ledley King.

Under the leadership and guidance of Tottenham Hotspur Player & Coach Pathway Co-ordinator (and UEFA A Licence Coach), Jimmy Martin, as well as members of Tottenham’s coaching staff, Shannon Maloney, Kevin Moffatt and Tyler Blackwood, the workshop was a unique opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced coaches in the game.

“Coach education is a vital part of developing football across NSW, and having more than 120 coaches attend this workshop highlights the appetite within our football community to continue learning and improving,” explained Football NSW Head of Football, Edward Ferguson.

Ferguson continued to outline the value of learning from an organisation like Tottenham Hotspur, a team who have helped grow some of the game’s most exceptional talents. The lessons taken will consequently help to inform future approaches to coaching in NSW.

“The focus remains on creating better learning environments for players, encouraging decision-making, creativity and long-term development.”

What the workshop involved

The workshop encouraged coaches to dive into all aspects of player development: the technical, tactical, physical and mental aspects which contribute to the English academy setup.

Furthermore, Maloney, Moffatt and Blackwood – all of whom helped deliver a practical session for attendees – showed how a club’s playing identity can work alongside challenging training environments for players.

Game understanding, creative problem-solving and technical proficiency underpinned the main themes driving the workshop. In an age where individual expression on the pitch appears a dying art, Tottenham Hotspur coaches remain committed to encouraging players to feel confident adapating to a range of in-game scenarios.

Football NSW coaches were also able to attend a Q&A session with King, who spoke about his playing experiences for both club and country.

 

Final thoughts

As Australia continues to nurture the current and upcming generations of talented footballers, workshops such as this are a vital, fundamental part of the journey.

The fastest way to be among the best is to learn from them. The aim now is for Football NSW coaches to take the lessons learned, and apply them to football development in their own academies and teams across the state.

Barnsley FC’s under-17s pathway delivers six Zone League debuts in 2026

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Barnsley FC has integrated six of its under-17s players into first and reserve grade football during the 2026 Zone League season, the Hunter Valley club has confirmed.

The elevations include a debut in goal at first grade level and a goal scored by another player promoted to third grade, as the club continues to formalise the pathway connecting its junior and senior programs across the 2026 season.

Team Operations Coordinator Josh Boote said the movement of players between grades had been a deliberate focus through the season.

“We have had six boys from the under-17s come up and play Zone League, with one making his debut in goals in first grade,” Boote said.

Barnsley FC head coach Jacob Avellis said the under-17s squad had trained and competed alongside senior sides throughout 2026.

“The under-17s have been a part of our season all season. We support them, they support us,” Avellis said.

Zone League is the third tier of competition within Northern NSW Football, administered jointly by Newcastle Football, Macquarie Football and Hunter Valley Football, the three sub-federations covering the region. The competition spans three divisions and around 35 clubs across more than 10 local government areas.

Clubs can be promoted from Zone League into Northern League One, the tier above, while individual players who progress through zone competition remain eligible for representative selection at state level.

Midfielder Oliver Cousin was handed the reserve grade captain’s armband late in a recent match, a decision the club attributed to his consistency and development through the season. Barnsley FC described the appointment as an example of the club’s junior-to-senior structure in practice.

Avellis said the club’s junior programs continued to depend on volunteer coaches and administrators to function alongside its representative pathway.

“They are all keen to get up in Zone League and be a part of the squad. The potential within those teams is unreal,” Avellis said.

Barnsley FC positioned the approach as part of a broader aim to retain local talent as players progress through age groups, a persistent challenge for clubs operating across the Hunter region’s geographic spread.

The club said its focus for the remainder of the season and into 2027 would be on formalising the pathway further, including clearer criteria for movement between grades and continued integration of junior training with senior programs.

Part of a wider strategic push

Northern NSW Football oversees development across the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast and New England regions, with Zone League forming part of a broader structure that includes representative and state pathways feeding into national systems.

The club-level movement aligns with a priority set out in NNSWF’s 2024 to 2026 Strategic Plan, which includes Talent Development for All as one of four core pillars alongside participation, facilities and governance.

NNSWF has previously stated the plan has driven measurable growth in registrations and competition strength across the region, including in women’s and girls’ football, since it was introduced.

A new strategic plan covering 2027 to 2029 is in development, with NNSWF engaging Sports Advisory Partners Australia to lead consultation with clubs, zones, volunteers and staff across the coming months.

Barnsley FC positioned its own pathway work at under-17s level as consistent with that broader direction, with junior and senior programs run under a single club structure rather than managed as separate entities.

The club’s first and reserve grade Zone League sides are scheduled to continue through the competition’s regular season before finals, with the under-17s squad remaining integrated into senior training in the interim.

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