Many are fascinated by them. The talented football players. The players that exhibit impressive skills already at young age (7-10 years) and often excel in a rapid matter. It is naturally to assume that these players also are the top players of the future, although research show that this is most often not the case.

Since 2005, the Football and Talent project has followed players in one age cohort, from the age of 13/14, selected for age-specific national teams in their age cohort. Furthermore, the project has followed this cohort of players in a 10-year period, up to today.

The ambitious intention of the project is to find player characteristics which could explain why some players succeed while others are not as lucky/motivated/hardworking. The project also highlights how important contributors such as coaches, teammates and parent affect the players development. By highlighting the players development and challenges both on and off the field, one wishes to gain a holistic understanding of the players' everyday lives and long-term development.

Some of the topics covered by the project are:

• training amount
• coach-athlete relationship
• educational choices
• self-assessment of skills
• stress
• thoughts on the future
• club choices