Academy awarded three-star rating again

The Belgian agency “Double PASS” issues the rating on behalf of the DFL and the DFB. The youth academy's facilities, organisation and theoretical foundations have been examined closely over the course of several days. Members of staff were interviewed to gather information on strategic planning, underlying coaching philosophy and the structures in place. The following criteria are crucial to the evaluation:

- Strategy and financial management

- Organisation and procedure

- Football training and evaluation

- Educational support

- Staff

- Communications and cooperation

- Infrastructure and equipment

- Efficiency and opportunities for progression

The academy received and average rating of “very good” in the eight categories and was subsequently awarded three stars.

“We've put a tremendous effort into building the structures that are in place today and we're happy that we once again received a three-star rating. Our coaches consider our youth teams' success and the positive development of our young talents to be the biggest reward for the great job they've been doing over the years,” said Alexander Rosen, director of football at Hoffenheim. In his former role as head of the academy, he was one of the fathers of this success.

The current director of the “achtzehn99 ACADEMY”, Dirk Mack, took over the job at the beginning of the year and considers the good rating extra motivation. “The academy is flourishing. Of course our aim is to maintain these high standards in all aspects and continue to improve on a daily basis. This may be ambitious, but I'm confident that we can do this,” said the 46-year-old.