After Mokio, Belgium steps in to reform youth teams

The Belgian football association steps in to prevent top talents from fleeing to other countries again, after Ajax midfielder Jorthy Mokio, Kos Karetsas and Bilal El Khannouss recently chose Congo, Greece and Morocco; the association therefore reforms the youth development of the national teams. See us more often on Google.

Netherlands loses young players to Morocco

The same problem exists in the Netherlands, where the Under‑21 team recently lost basic player Ayoub Oufkir to Morocco. The 20‑year‑old striker of AZ still featured three times for the Under‑21 team last month, but recently decided to choose Morocco. With that, the KNVB lost another talent who had played for Dutch youth eleven‑a‑side squads for years. Earlier, Ajax talent Abdellah Ouazane also chose Morocco.

Belgium struggles with the same problem, as Mokio chose Congo, Karetsas preferred Greece and El Khannouss chose Morocco.

KBVB introduces Pre Pathway

The Belgian football association (KBVB) wants to prevent more dual‑nationality talents from being lost and therefore implements sweeping changes. The national Under‑15 and Under‑16 teams disappear in their current form. Instead, the KBVB introduces a so‑called Pre Pathway, which prepares young talents for a possible place in Belgium Under‑17. Players are monitored from the age of fifteen, but for now remain with their own clubs.

For the sixteen‑year‑olds the association still organizes a training camp with a larger group of players and an international tournament at the end of the season. The new approach aims to cut costs and give players more space to develop at their clubs.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, now technical manager at the Belgian association, and talent‑responsible Roy Pieters are given an important role. They must engage with players and their families at a young age to convince them of the Belgian project. “Without making unrealistic promises, without selling dreams, but by explaining how our methodology differs,” says technical director Pierre Locht to RTBF. The new methodology also carries risks.

Because Belgium no longer works with fixed national selections Under‑15 and Under‑16, talents in that age group can still be called up for other countries, while they have not yet played official youth internationals for Belgium. The KBVB hopes that more intensive contact with players and their families will ultimately outweigh the early selection of talents. “We knew we might be taking a risk with dual‑nationality players. We will assess the balance within five years,” says Locht.