YIANNI STAMATELOPOULOS TO HEAD UP NEW UNDER 18 ACADEMY TEAM

West Adelaide SC is proud to announce the appointment of Yianni Stamatelopoulos for the next 3 seasons as the inaugural coach of its Under 18 Academy side.

There will be a soft launch of the program in 2024 with players from younger age groups invited to train with the under 18 squad proper, with 2025 seeing the program develop in its entirety.

Yianni, a former West Adelaide youth player, had this to say about the program and his appointment, ‘I’m ecstatic to be back at West Adelaide and proud to see this initiative come to life. I’m passionate about the development of young footballers and the goal of this program will be about setting out to have as many players feature in not just our first team but the A-League and overseas’.

Chairman and President, John Tsianos reiterated Yianni’s sentiments, ‘The Club needs to be true to its word about wanting to develop its own players and this program will ensure we do just that. Investing in youth development is a vital component of our strategy to become a sustainable Club, not just for the years ahead but for future generations’.

WHAT DOES THE ACADEMY SIDE ENTAIL

2024 will be a transitional year which will see a 22-player squad selected from predominantly current West Adelaide players.

The team will continue with a traditional 3 day per week plus game schedule.

An additional 2 sessions will be scheduled for a wider group which will see younger players invited to join the team.

Moving into 2025, the team will then shift into a ‘European-style’ regime which will include:

• 6+ training sessions per week
• Nutritionist to oversee players diet (food will be provided for post-training meals)
• Formal agreements will need to be signed by players and parents. Official notices will be sent by the Club to the players School
• 22-26 player squad featuring players aged between 14-17 years old
• Players who aren’t successful in making the under 18 match day squad will then feature in their respective age team
• All players who feature in the under 18 squad will be required to attend a Sunday recovery session at Park27B
• All players will be assigned a youth team to mentor
• Team will be entered into other competitions and tournaments
• No registration or fees will be required to be paid by any player selected (2025 onwards)

WHO IS YIANNI STAMATELOPOULOS

Yianni has previously been first team coach at Adelaide Cobras, Adelaide Olympic and Adelaide Vicotry, and now heads up Eleven Football Academy with another former West Adelaide youth player, Adilson Lopes. Yianni has represented a host of Clubs in Adelaide including representing the South Australian state team at various levels.

The under 18 Academy trials commence this coming Thursday at Kilburn Sportsplex. For more information and to register please click here.