DBU launches biggest investment in Danish youth football
Thursday 27th August 2026 on 06:15 in
Denmark
The Danish Football Association, DBU, has launched a new development programme aimed at making football more enjoyable for children and young people, DR reports. The programme, called Future Football Clubs, is intended to improve their wellbeing and strengthen communities within clubs.
A central focus will be making training more playful. DBU chief executive Kenneth Reeh said the programme should challenge the culture of constant skills development that surrounds children and young people, including in football.
“When the playful element returns, children and young people have much more fun, and their football skills are actually strengthened,” Reeh said.
DBU will also examine whether more children and young people can train together across different ability levels instead of being divided into groups. Reeh said players are sometimes selected too early, with the strongest placed together and the next strongest in another group.
“We would like to change that because they can learn from each other,” he said.
DBU will develop the programme with around 50 clubs from across Denmark in a five year pilot project. One participating club is VSK Aarhus.
Club director Jens Isbak said children are motivated by different things. Some want to learn more and improve their football skills, while others mainly attend for the community and activities away from the pitch.
He said training should therefore sometimes be divided according to ability and at other times focus on social activities. The programme will also provide training and skills development for coaches and volunteers.
Future Football Clubs is part of DBU’s Whole Denmark Clubhouse project, which aims to improve the wellbeing of children and young people and strengthen sporting development in Danish football.
According to Reeh, the programme represents the biggest investment ever in the development of Danish children’s and youth football. The LEGO Foundation and Lars Larsen Group are providing a combined 250 million kroner.