The success of the Swiss FA's youth development policy, as testified by their U-17 European Championships title last spring in Denmark, is there to be explored by the Malta FA.

Ralph Zloczower and Peter Gillièron, president and general secretary of the Swiss FA respectively, told The Sunday Times that they are ready to share their knowledge and experience in youth development with the Maltese association.

"The turning point came in 1995 when we appointed a highly-qualified technical director and set up football centres across the country. Our policy lays equal emphasis on education and football. Young footballers spend the first half of the day at school before they start their training," Zloczower told The Sunday Times.

The development of young players has been one of the priorities for the Swiss FA over the last eight years. They have invested millions of francs in grassroots football, also thanks to their partners Credit Suisse who exact that half of their sponsorship money to the Swiss FA goes into youth development.

The U-17 European crown was the first international title won by a Swiss national team in the association's 107-year history. Their U-17 team clinched the title without conceding a single point, in the process defeating countries like Portugal, England and France (twice).

"Yes, we are very willing to assist Malta in the promotion of young footballers," Zloczower told me when I brought the matter up for discussion during a dinner at Basle's St Jakob Park Stadium before Tuesday's Champions League encounter between Basel and Liverpool.

The presence of the manager of the Swiss national team, Jakob Kuhn, U-21 coach Bernard Challandes, and Hans Rudi Hasler, the technical director, spoke volumes of the respect the association attributes to its football mentors.

Gillièron, the Swiss FA secretary, had also pledged his association's readiness to enter into a co-operation agreement with its Maltese counterpart during an earlier conversation in Vienna. "We would have no problem in having coaches from the MFA visiting us to see how we go about developing young footballers," Gillièron said.

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