Carl Veart appointed coach of Australia's under-17 team
Not offered a contract extension by Adelaide after five years as the club's A-League mentor, Veart's services were quickly up snapped by Football Australia, with his proven ability to develop and nurture young talent – including former Reds prodigy Nestory Irankunda – a key factor in his appointment.
'I (was) quite outspoken during my time at Adelaide about providing opportunities for young players,' Veart said on Monday from the Emerging Socceroos Championships in Bundoora.
'Before I was an A-League coach, I worked in this (youth) system for eight or nine years, working with those young players, so it's something that I'm very passionate about.
'I'm also very passionate about our national teams as well.'
Veart, 55, said his new role had come at the 'right time' for him.
'I spent a long time in the A-League, and I started to fatigue with that a little bit, so this is a refresh for myself, and I'm really looking forward to the years ahead,' he said.
'The difference is now I'm working for tomorrow with young players. When you're working with senior players, it's all about the result and getting the result today.
'Now it's about providing these players with a strong platform to go on and have successful careers, and it's about giving them guidance and direction to what it takes to make that high level.'
The former Socceroos striker was thrilled that several A-League clubs were giving younger players opportunities to shine.
'We've always said that up to 16-17 years of age, Australia does exceptionally well, and we needed to fix that gap from 17 to 20, and I think the A-League has done that, especially in the past 18 months,' Veart said.
'It's providing more opportunities for our younger players to get that exposure so they can develop quicker.'
Read related topics: Adelaide
Marco Monteverde
Sports reporter
Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world.
@marcothejourno
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