Why Elite Soccer Academies Are Bringing Back Street Soccer
Ajax, Feyenoord and Benfica are deliberately adding unpredictability back into youth training to encourage creativity.
Athletes World
• Street soccer’s small spaces and unpredictable games can encourage creativity, quick decisions and the kind of improvisation elite academies are now trying to bring back into youth development.
At some of Europe’s top soccer academies, coaches are deliberately making practice less perfect. Ajax uses tiny concrete pitches for two-on-two games. Feyenoord has created small playing areas made of sand, concrete and intentionally imperfect grass. Benfica has trained young players with tennis balls, beach balls and soccer balls with different amounts of air. (The Times, 2026)
The idea is to recreate something children once found naturally outside: unpredictable games without a coach providing every answer.
The idea is to recreate something children once found naturally outside: unpredictable games without a coach providing every answer.
