The country's brightest footballing talent have converged on Townsville, with Football Australia conducting an Under 16 National Talent Identification Camp for boys.
The camp is being held between April 11 - 15, featuring Australian-based players born in 2006 participating in five days of football-related activities at facilities across the North Queensland city, including the Cowboys' newly opened Community, Training and High-Performance Centre with its elite multi-sport training spaces, sports medicine and sports science laboratories.
Over the course of the camp, the boys will play an internal 11v11 elite match on Tuesday 12 April (4.30pm) at Queensland County Bank Stadium and against a local 'select' team on Thursday 14 April (5.00pm) at 1300SMILES Active Park - home of Football Queensland in Townsville.
Watch Tuesday's opening match via the My Football YouTube Channel in the player below.
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Stay tuned for squad lists.
Players have been invited to attend this Football Australia talent identification camp following ongoing scouting via a network of technical staff at Member Federations, who monitor players within school competitions, at club level, talent support programs, plus within the National Premier Leagues and A-League Academies.
Trevor Morgan, Football Australia's Head of Technical Direction, Pathways & Coach Education & Australian U17 Men's Head Coach said this camp gives invitees the chance to push for selection in impending Australian U17 squads.
"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our national youth teams have been in hiatus for the past two years and this camp will be the first time we've been able to bring together some of the country's best emerging players for a talent identification camp as we prepare for future international games and tournament campaigns," Morgan said.
The Joeys will start qualifying as an Under-16 team later this year vying for a place at the 2023 AFC Under-17 Asian Cup in Bahrain. This is the first camp for domestic players who are age-eligible, and we aim to provide more opportunities for players born in 2006 and younger throughout the year to ensure we have the best team possible to represent our nation.
"This squad has been selected through collaboration with clubs and Member Federation technical staff to ensure we are scouting further than before," he said.
