The youngest clubs. Slovaks are among the leaders

A team from Trencin has the fourth-lowest average age in Europe. In addition to them, the elite eleven also includes the teams from Zilina and Senica.

Few spectators in stadiums, unattractive matches, low club revenues, and poor results in European competitions – our football league is usually associated with negatives. In many aspects, the Fortuna League ranks among the below-average competitions. But in one indicator, the vast majority of countries on the old continent could envy us – the average age of starting line-ups at the beginning of this season. According to the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), the league under the Tatras, with an average age of 25.22 years, is the fourth-youngest in Europe. Three Slovak teams – Trencin, Zilina, and Senica – placed among the top 11 clubs with the lowest average age. The best in this parameter was AS Trencin, the fourth-youngest club on the continent. “This is a positive result for us and for the whole league. We can be proud of it,” AS general manager Robert Rybnícek told the Economic Daily.

A profitable business
For interest, in the average age comparison, only the leagues in Slovenia, Croatia, and the Netherlands ranked ahead of Slovakia. “I hear claims that we give young players a chance because we don’t have money. But it’s exactly the opposite – they get the opportunity because they are the future, also from a business point of view,” said Rybnícek. Clubs from wealthier European leagues have in recent years been willing to invest increasingly higher sums in young talents aged 20 to 21. And it is precisely such players that clubs from Trencin and Zilina have managed to sell profitably. “The fact that so many young footballers are getting opportunities in the Slovak league is good for the whole of Slovak football and its future,” said Jozef Tokos, football analyst and sports agent. He points out that, of course, you cannot succeed in the top league with only teenagers. Every club also needs more experienced players in the line-up. “But the dynamics of the game have shifted to a completely different level of player readiness than, say, ten years ago. A higher game tempo and handling two, and sometimes even three, tough matches a week require players in a lower age category,” explained Rybnícek. From among young Slovaks, Trencin has profitably sold Stanislav Lobotka and Frantisek Kubik, but their highest income came from transfers of young foreign players.

Benefit for the national team
Opportunities for young players and their subsequent sales abroad also benefit the national teams. The best example is the successful campaign of the under-21 national team at the summer European Championship of this age category. “Few people realise where the beginnings of the under-21’s success lie. Players like Lobotka and Skriniar managed to play a hundred or more league matches at a very young age. They benefited from that abroad as well,” said Rybnícek. Both Skriniar and Lobotka were able to adapt almost immediately to their new environments at Nordsjaelland and Sampdoria Genoa, respectively. Today, still only 22 years old, they are among the key figures in the national A-team under coach Jan Kozak. An interesting point in the rankings is the comparison with the neighbouring Czech league. The Czech competition is the ninth-oldest in Europe, and its footballers are on average almost two years older than those in the Fortuna League. “In the Czech Republic, it is traditional to prefer older players and to place emphasis on experience. In this respect, we are completely different,” added Tokos.