See how our ID school players were able to afford the pro dream and now depart for pro Euro Trials

Today wished Jack and Ahmed farewell as they head to Lithuania for Euro pro trials. We were approached by one of our agents who informed us that there are clubs in Lithuania that are willing to trial them and allow them to start their Euro pro career.

Jack and Ahmed were further developed at our Junior Euro pathway. Here they were prepared for the Euro pro dream that they previously could not afford.

The opportunity for these players came after the decision of Olympias Lympia to no longer sign up Cristhian, where we continued to receive invitations by other clubs for Cristhian to trial. Cristhian trialled at other clubs across numerous European countries where he also received good reviews.

However, the challenge he faced as an Australian player is that a player who has prior European club experience will be regarded higher than an Australian player. Whilst we are confident in Cristhian’s abilities, we must also respect a notion that the Australian playing biography is considered inferior in Europe.

Throughout the course of his various trials, we were approached by another agent who assessed Cristhian on the merit of his skill and not on his prior playing biography. This agent invited Cristhian to trial in Lithuania whereby he would be given a chance to commence a professional European playing biography.

Once making contact with Olympiacos Melbourne, the agent mentioned the need for additional players that were as skilled as Cristhian. Jack Yosif and Ahmed Almajidy were asked to also trial in Lithuanian teams that the agent had nominated.

We’d like to thank Cristhian for his ability to persist through the journey. His self-belief to continue to train in Europe allowed us to overcome the challenge of the Australian player biography that is not highly regarded in Europe. This challenge meant that we continued to miss out on receiving Euro pro contracts to players with a better biography.

Share this story

and experience this initiative for yourself.