Not enough football clubs to accommodate young players

Youth football is experiencing an unprecedented influx of players across Belgium, resulting in a shortage of places in local clubs, reports De Persgroep on Thursday. According to youth trainers, the sudden interest is fuelled by the hype surrounding the Red Devils following this summer’s World Cup.

"The phone has been ringing off the hook here since July,” said the trainer of KV Bonheiden. "But we’ve already reached our limit of 240 players, so we have to put the rest on a waiting list."  The youth club at SKV Oostakker also reports having to put 41 names on its waiting list. The clubs lack the infrastructure to take on more players, claiming there are too few fields and dressing rooms.

The Royal Belgian Football Association confirms the trend, noting that dozens of new youth clubs have registered in recent weeks.