Before the COVID lockdowns of 2020-21 shut down elite sport worldwide, some of the best under-11s players from Sydney Olympic FC’s Skill Acquisition Program (SAP) were given the opportunity of a lifetime.
This new documentary captures a whirlwind tour, where players, coaches and parents were faced with Europe’s powerhouse clubs in a number of friendly games against Bundesliga junior teams across Germany and at the Legia Cup in Warsaw, Poland, a high-level tournament for U-11 players. It marked the first time that an Australian team was invited to play at this European tournament where Juventus, Manchester United, Benfica, Ajax and other top tier clubs were participating. The film captures the tour and the perspective of successful Australian Socceroos and European coaches, who provide insights into the development pathway from youth to professional player.
As well as the fast-paced environment of football’s youth leagues, the film covers the rich, multicultural history of the sport in Australia, as well as what it takes to represent club and country at the highest level.
Shot across three years, then edited during the lengthy COVID lockdown, the film was released in October 2022 to coincide with the FIFA World Cup, after months of cinema closures and setbacks from the global pandemic.
Soccerscene spoke to the award-winning director and producer of O-LYM-PIC Football Dreams, Dr Janet Merewether, to discuss the intentions behind the documentary, the ins and outs of European football and the future of youth development in Australia.
Stadium model at Football Museum Germany
Can you tell me a bit about what it was that inspired you to create this film?
Janet Merewether: At the time, my son was playing for Sydney Olympic in the SAP team, a nationwide skills development program. Most of the states implement it and it is a way for kids who are about nine or 10, who are serious about the sport, to step up into a development pathway to leave grassroots football.
For a few years, Sydney Olympic had a relationship with Germany, trying to bring out coaches and so forth, and they organised this tour. The kids all had to trial, and it was quite competitive, because only half of the squad ended up going.
I’ve made documentaries about all sorts of subjects over 25 years, but when I saw the list of the calibre of the clubs that they would be playing against, I thought what an amazing opportunity to get behind the scenes.
I said listen, if you’re going, I’m going to film this, because we’ve got an opportunity to speak with coaches, to see the facilities they have access to and how our small, Sydney-based NPL club goes against the best resourced clubs in the world. We’re talking Manchester United, Juventus, Benfica – this calibre of clubs.
We’re at this tournament, and for me it was really a parallel with what the Socceroos are up against every World Cup.
What were some of the major differences that you noticed between the youth leagues in Australia and the youth leagues in Europe?
Janet Merewether: Firstly, when you go to Germany and Europe, you see the facilities, but that is because their youth programs occur in these huge clubs which are very well-resourced, like RB Leipzig and Hertha BSC and so forth. That was one superficial difference, but the other thing that we speak about in the film is the coach accreditation they have in Europe and the ability for the national bodies to actually audit the development programs.
I have to say sadly, in Australia, and this has been only my experience in Sydney, I saw pretty much most clubs not conforming to the rules set down by Football NSW.
Educationally, for a 10 or 11-year-old player, the international recommendation is that every kid should learn to play in every position and get equal playing time. Time and time again, that was not implemented by the clubs in Sydney. When I contacted Football NSW, and they did send the rules which were supposed to be distributed to the parents, the club just went ballistic. Some other parents also put their hand up to complain and their kids were just dropped or thrown out of the club, so I noticed that people became fearful of speaking up.
Our curriculum is there, and SAP is supposed to implement the national curriculum. It was written in 2009. Han Berger worked with the FFA, which is now Football Australia, to develop that curriculum and it was revised in 2013. As Alex Tobin says in the film, there is this ‘golden age of learning’ from nine to 12 years of age. That is why SAP is called skill acquisition because rather than concentrating on winning games, it’s skills based.
If, for example, clubs aren’t teaching kids to play all positions, they don’t understand what positional play is about, and it’s just going to make them inflexible and unusable as a player, because they cannot be subbed on anywhere.
It’s the best practice worldwide, and if clubs actually did as the state bodies recommend in the curriculum and in the SAP guidelines, then the kids would have the technical ability. Until the states have the teeth to actually audit these programs and make sure clubs are adhering to them, not a lot is going to change.
What could Australian youth leagues learn from those in Europe?
Janet Merewether: What I would like to see is some sort of scholarships or some other financial assistance that can be offered to talented players who can’t afford to pay between $1,500 and $2,500 a season. A lot of talented kids leave, and it’s a real shame.
There are also plenty of really, really good players with a lot of flair who are still playing in grassroots clubs and aren’t on a developmental pathway. I can see that a lot of clubs aren’t necessarily playing by the rules set down in the curriculum either and in some ways my gut instinct came to light when the Bill Papas case broke in the press last year.
My son eventually went on to play AFL, and he fell out of love with soccer as well to a degree. I felt uncomfortable that the level of integrity I would have expected from the game just wasn’t there.
What were some of the most memorable moments from the tournament?
Janet Merewether: There was a lot that our kids went through, but the main thing I thought was amazing was that although they were very, very tired by the end of the trip and despite a string of losses, they still managed to pick themselves up and play their best.
They played against some of the best teams in Europe and they came such a long way. Anthony Williams, one of the younger coaches in the film, is a school teacher, and he was just terrific at trying to get the boys on target and get them reenergised.
The other highlight was watching the final of the Legia Cup between Ajax and Anderlecht. I felt like I was watching adult players – the quality was so good. I remember thinking oh my gosh, these kids are 10 years old – the energy, the talent and the skill was just phenomenal.
Still from documentary ‘O-LYM-PIC – Football Dreams’
What has the general response been to the film?
Janet Merewether: I have found that the football world has been relatively silent to date. I don’t know if that’s sexism that they think a mum making a film about a youth team is not important. I think also because I do ask questions about the system, and about the expense and integrity of the game, it might be uncomfortable.
It’s probably uncomfortable for Olympic, it’s probably uncomfortable for the state bodies. But the feedback we got from cinema audiences and parents, who were taking their kids, felt positive and they got a lot out of it.
What was also really nice was that people who don’t have knowledge of the game and who aren’t normally fans of the sport were able to go to the film and just see it as a really human story – an Australian team battling against the big guys overseas.
I was really pleased because I also wanted some of these issues to be discussed in school, so we’ll be rolling out to the education sector as well, although I would love to hear from the football community. I have reached out to Football NSW technical directors, but I’m yet to receive feedback from that level.
‘O-LYM-PIC – Football Dreams’
Following the interview, Dr Merewether was contacted by Football Australia and a meeting was arranged to discuss the documentary.
O-LYM-PIC Football Dreams is available for viewing in cinemas and sports/cultural clubs and streaming via watchantidotefilms.com.au. Readers can also contact the filmmaker through https://footballdreams.com.au/. For teachers, coaches and educators, the film and study guide is available at theeducationshop.com.au
