OMM Newsroom
Germany and Austria are not taking part in the FIFA U-15 World Cup and festival, being held in Baku from October 24 to 30. Austrian newspaper Der Standard examined why the two countries are absent from a tournament featuring 189 national teams.
Germany’s position
The German Football Association said its decision reflected the way it develops young players. In its view, players of this age should not be exposed prematurely to the pressures of professional football, high public expectations, early public scrutiny of their performances or agents’ interests. The association believes these factors could negatively affect the development of talented players.
Austria’s schedule
The Austrian Football Association told Der Standard that when the Baku world championship was announced, the U-15 national team had already agreed to participate in another tournament. From October 28 to November 2, Austria will face Iceland, Greece and Spain in the UEFA Development tournament, which will be held at the federation’s training base.
The Austrian federation, ÖFB, spoke positively about the Baku competition’s eight-a-side format and said it would follow the tournament and take the experience into account when deciding whether to enter similar events in the future.
Der Standard also drew attention to Russia’s national team competing under its own flag. The Austrian newspaper described this as one step toward the return of Russian football to the international arena; Ukraine criticized the decision. The German and Austrian federations cited sporting and organizational reasons for not participating and said their decisions were not connected to Russia’s involvement.
Nearly 1,000 matches are planned at the first FIFA U-15 World Cup and festival in Baku. Matches are played in an eight-a-side format, with two 20-minute halves.
