The Macarthur Football Association (MFA) is passionate about nurturing talent and providing a clear pathway for players of all ages and abilities. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to develop their skills and reach their full potential in the beautiful game.
The Talent Development Program is the crucial centrepiece in connecting grassroots and representative football together.
Purpose of the Talent Development Program (TDP)
The TDP aims to bridge the gap between grassroots football and elite levels by providing a high-performance environment that will serve as additional high-quality training and games for club-based players. By selecting a group of talented players based in club football each term, it will become a program that not only supports player development in the region but also supports club development as this program will run alongside club football (rather than against it). The TDP therefore will act as both an individual player development focused program to strengthen club football, and as a talent identification process to strengthen player pathways in the region.
Through training that is delivered by experienced and qualified coaches, as well as through playing in higher-quality games against other member associations and NPL clubs, the TDP will provide an increased number of talented players, an exposure to what a high-performance environment looks and feels like. Alongside our other development programs, the TDP will become the crucial centrepiece in connecting grassroots and representative football together.
Macarthur TDP - Summer TDP (Term 4 2026-Term 1 2027) Program Details
Designed as a program to help bridge the gap between grassroots and representative football, our Macarthur TDP has already had a massive 61 PLAYERS progress through TDP, alongside club football commitments, into representative football for the 2026 season. With our current Term 3 2026 "Macarthur TDP Team of the Year" squads, many more are due to progress with ongoing 2027 representative squad selections.
From Term 4 2026 onwards, our Macarthur TDP will become a semester-based program with the program to run for 20 weeks (rather than the current 10 weeks on a term-by-term basis). This will mean that our next intake will participate in 20-weeks of training across our "Summer TDP" Term 4 2026, and Term 1 2026, and the following intake will only be open for selection for our "In-Season TDP" for Term 2 and Term 3 2027.
Selected players will undertake 20-weeks of training and be due to play games against NPL clubs and other Member Associations. The games, to be viewed directly by opposition and invited NPL TD’s and Coaches, will no doubt assist even more players to be identified and offered to trial or for potential selection into 2027 representative squads.
With our recent expansion into Macarthur SAP (MSAP) League age-groups, our "Summer TDP" (Term 4 2026-Term 1 2027) will invite players from the below age-groups to join our program:
BOYS PROGRAM (U8-U16):
- U8 Boys - 2019 born
- U9 Boys - 2018 born
- U10 Boys - 2017 born
- U11 Boys - 2016 born
- U12 Boys - 2015 born
- U13 Boys - 2014 born
- U14 Boys - 2013 born
- U15 Boys - 2012 born
- U16/18 Boys - 2011/10/09 born
- U8 Girls - 2019 born
- U9 Girls - 2018 born
- U10 Girls - 2017 born
- U11 Girls - 2016 born
- U12 Girls - 2015 born
- U13 Girls - 2014 born
- U14 Girls - 2013 born
- U15/16 Girls - 2012/11 born
If you have a son/ daughter in the above age groups, please complete our Expression of Interest (EOI) form below detailing of your personal details, as well as their playing experience and we will be in touch with you accordingly with any further details. Please note we will hold trials for our Summer TDP in the week prior to program commencement; any further details will be communicated shortly. This EOI process serves to capture player interest and we will communicate with parents our program offerings accordingly.
Dates (Term 4 2026): Monday 12th October – Monday 14th December 2026
Dates (Term 1 2027): Monday 25th January – Monday 5th April 2027
5:00-6:10pm = U8 Boys, U9 Boys
6:15-7:25pm = U12 Girls, U13 Girls, U14 Girls, U15 Girls
Cost: $590 semester fee (option for $295 term instalments) + $135.00 kit fee (one-off fee for new participants)
NOTE: for selection into our TDP, you must be playing in 2026, or due to play in 2027, within our local Macarthur competitions, such as the Macarthur SAP (MSAP) League or the Macarthur Youth League (MYL).
Macarthur TDP Latest Stories
Meet Our Coaches: All with Representative Experience
Program Offering: What's included in TDP?
Program Cost
The Talent Development Program is priced at $295 per term, which includes 10 weeks of high performance coaching and a minimum of two competitive matches against other Football NSW member associations and/or NPL clubs, with all referee fees covered.
A one-time uniform package fee of $135 also applies, which includes the official training kit.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to MFA Football Development Manager, Matt Rootsey, on tdp@macarthurfootball.com.au