In a major milestone for holistic player development, our 96 Skills concept has been officially recognized as a national best practice by Germany’s top football governing bodies. By featuring the curriculum on their central learning platform for licensed youth academies, the DFL and DFB are highlighting this innovative approach as a valuable source of inspiration across the country.
The DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) is the organisation responsible for operating and marketing Germany’s top two professional football divisions: the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Headquartered in Frankfurt, the DFL acts as the strategic and operational core of German professional club football, representing the interests of the 36 licensed clubs. Beyond managing fixture lists, transfer regulations, and the centralized marketing of media rights, the DFL is heavily invested in future-oriented topics. It oversees the licensing system—ensuring the financial stability and structural integrity of its clubs—and plays a leading role in areas like digitalization, sports technology, and systemic club development.
The DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) is the governing body for football in Germany and the world’s largest single sports federation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, the DFB is responsible for the systemic structure of German football, managing everything from grassroots development and amateur leagues to the senior national teams. Within the elite youth ecosystem, the DFB operates as the overarching regulatory and educational authority. It governs the national youth leagues (Nachwuchsligen) and closely collaborates with professional clubs to set the structural, medical, and educational guidelines for licensed youth academies (Nachwuchsleistungszentren). By overseeing talent identification programmes, managing the national youth team pathways, and directing advanced coaching education, the DFB ensures a unified framework designed to develop resilient, future-ready athletes for the highest levels of the game.
Highest institutional validation in German youth football
Managed jointly by the DFL and the German Football Association (DFB), the platform Leistungszentren.de serves as the central digital hub and transparent benchmark for Germany’s highly regarded Youth Academy system (Leistungszentren). Because it is accessible exclusively to the coaching staff, managers, and associated experts working directly within these high-performance player environments, the platform acts as the ultimate knowledge-sharing network for elite German youth football. Its primary purpose and strategic goals can be broken down into three key pillars:
- Standardization & structural transparency
- Holistic player development & dual career
- Stakeholder communication & parental guidance
Co-designed by the Hannover 96 Academy, KGS Hemmingen, and TWIN, the 96 Skills concept has now been selected to be showcased on this exclusive platform. Originally piloted as a groundbreaking school subject for academy players aged 15–18 at an accredited DFB Elite School of Football, 96 Skills proves that off-pitch education and personal development do not compete with athletic performance—they catalyze it. The curriculum’s structured focus on 5+1 essential dimensions (Core, Life, Mental, Communication, Social, and Extra Skills) treats personal growth with the same professional rigor as tactical or physical training.
Being selected for Leistungszentren.de is far more than a simple feature; it marks a significant milestone of nationwide recognition at the highest level of sports governance. By bringing 96 Skills—embedded in the broader systemic Plan A dual career framework—into this exclusive space, the DFL and DFB are positioning this curriculum as an innovative blueprint for the entire country.
For TWIN, this validation reinforces a core belief: systemic, holistic club development requires innovative, scalable frameworks. By sharing the 96 Skills blueprint with directors, coaches, and staff across all German youth academies, the DFB and DFL are fostering a culture where elite athletic excellence and robust dual career structures go hand in hand.
