Australian Institute of Sport

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) leads the development of elite sport and is widely acknowledged in Australia and internationally as a world best practice model for elite athlete development. The AIS is a pre-eminent elite sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services.

The AIS has 35 sport programs in 26 sports.

AIS scholarship holders to become tomorrow's world-beaters and all the information on how to join the AIS family is available through the scholarships section.

The AIS has been the nation's sports training powerhouse mainly due to the AIS facilities and the cutting edge Sports Science Sports Medicine support.

The AIS campus is located in the suburb of Bruce in the Australian Capital Territory.

Football Program

Football was one of the eight founding sports of the AIS. The program was established in 1981 with two broad aims - to identify and develop players for the national under-20 youth team and to develop coaches through the Scholarship Coaching scheme.  With the advent of the National Youth League this has been adjusted and players are usually 16 (turning 17) years of age when they begin their scholarship now.

Scholarships are initially offered for one year with a second year being offered if the players do well. The AIS looks to field teams in the best possible competition for the young players development and has an excellent record of success given the players'  youth.

The squad also endeavours to provide opportunities to play and train overseas, further developing experience and professionalism by competing against a variety of opposition and playing styles. Tours have included Malaysia, China, South America, Mexico, Europe and the United States. Other areas integrated into the AIS program include sports psychology, nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, recovery and travel skills.

The AIS Football program is a residential program. It is well known and respected in the international football community and is seen by many as a quality feeding ground for professional clubs, both domestic and international.

For more information on the AIS or it's football program please click here.