COWDENBEATH’S director of youth development has re-assured Blue Brazil fans that the club will not be losing out in any way through the development of the Fife Elite Football Academy.

Cowden has had a highly successful youth production line over two decades which has seen the first team have a regular sprinkling of home talent in the ranks.

Indeed, the current first team, has Jon Robertson, Lewis Milne, Dean Brett, Thomas O’Brien and Craig Johnston featuring regularly.

However, Tom Ewing (pictured) explained this week that the Cowden youth structure, which saw players come to the club set-up and playing from under 14 level up to the 19s, was scrapped under the SFA’s new youth philosophy brought to the Scotland by Dutch guru Mark Wotte.

Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, East Fife and Raith Rovers have come together under one umbrella to set up the Fife Elite Academy which runs teams at under 12, 13, 14, 15s, 16s/17s.

“Mark Wotte’s system involves the best young players in Scotland playing against one-another and to achieve that an Elite league structure has been set up,” said Tom “Academies have been graded 1 to 6 with the Elite set-ups ranging from 4 through to 6 and 1-3 being Iniative Level with funding being greater for Elite levels and ranging downwards to grade 1.

“Cowdenbeath’s youth set-up was graded at level 2 along with the the Pars and Raith, while East Fife were grade, 1 but it was made clear to the four clubs that we could achieve Elite status if we joined together to form the Fife Academy with the extra funding that this would entail.

“Yes it did mean that the four clubs had to basically scrap what they had been doing, but now we have the funding package in place and the Fife structure that sees our youngsters playing against the top youth players in the country.” The Academy teams play in Inter Milan black and blue stripes, which encompasses the colours of the four senior clubs in the county, and the second-half of the season has just started.

“By making the move we have ensured that Cowden and the other clubs get top levels of funding for youth development and it is up to us to ensure that we earn the points that are awarded at the end of each season to maintain that level of cash flow,” continued Tom “This is done by the achievements of players in our system going on to play at first team level and then moving on to higher grades.” Tom said that Cowdenbeath currently had three players in the Under 17 team which was competing well in the Elite League and these players would remain as Cowden players until the end of this season when the club would either sign them on or they would become available for the other Academy clubs.

“The players in the younger age groups are not connected to any particular club but the under 17 lads will remain with the clubs who have sponsored them or if they are released, they can be approached by the other three set-ups to join them,” added the youth director.

“The Academy has ten scouts and we look to try and keep the top Fife talent in the Kingdom and are also looking at the Lothians and beyond to get the best young players aboard.

“It is too early to say exactly how successful this new idea will be but by being involved in it Cowdenbeath is giving itself the best chance to get access to quality young talent and maintain a tradition that the club has followed since the 1990s.”