Eintracht Frankfurt wants to invest more in youth development again.
After the Hessians deregistered their U23s in 2014, partly for economic reasons, the Bundesliga soccer club has now submitted an application to add a second team. “Eintracht Frankfurt has applied to the Hessian Football Association (HFV) for the inclusion of a second team, Eintracht Frankfurt II, in the Hessenliga for the 2022/23 season,” the club announced on Monday. It is hoped that this will enable young talents from the youth academy to be better introduced to the professional team.
“For our further strategic orientation in the youth sector and as a transition to the professional team, it is important to have a strong foundation,” said sports director Markus Krösche in the club’s announcement and added: “But it is not only important that young talents have the opportunity to week to play under competitive conditions in men’s football for a week and thus be able to take the next steps in their development, but also of great importance that young prospective players from the first team who are not yet part of the regular squad gain game and competition practice at the highest possible level. “
For various reasons, the deregistration of the U23s was the right decision at the time, “which we as the presidency made together with the board,” explained President Peter Fischer. “But topics and requirements change and have to be reassessed on a regular basis. That happened in this case, and we fully support the realignment of the youth academy and Markus Krösche’s idea.”
Eintracht is still hoping for a decision from the HFV in February. A U23 could take part in the game again in the coming season.
