The FIFA Talent Development Scheme in Guatemala

After a period in the doldrums, there are signs that Guatemalan football is back on the up: in 2025, Los Chapines made the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time in 29 years. In this webinar, hosted by FIFA High Performance Specialist Gustavo Bañales, FFG Head of Talent ID Edwin Fajardo and Technical Development Director Carlos Eduardo Estrada join FIFA Talent Coach Vicent Benlloch to set out Guatemala’s talent development philosophy, and reveal how the TDS is helping to put Guatemalan football back on the map.

• The TDS in Guatemala shows that a long-term plan tailored to each country’s specific circumstances can yield impressive results.

• A professional approach to talent ID, training, registration and monitoring is vital. Knowing your players is key to success.

• Players can drop out of the game if they do not get the opportunity to compete. Organising regular tournaments can help keep your best youngsters in your system.

Part 1: Background
The first part of the session sets out how the TDS programme in Guatemala has evolved since it began in 2022. Carlos Eduardo Estrada explains how the TDS plays a central role in the Guatemalan approach to talent development. The scheme provides financial support, funds the latest performance analysis technology, and helps to organise U-13 tournaments to expose young players to competition. Finally, Estrada sketches out the eight functions within the development department, and how they correspond to the six pillars of the overall Guatemalan FA (FFG) strategy for developing staff and players. 

Part 2: The Talent Coach Programme and Talent ID Processes
Next, Edwin Fajardo gives a detailed account of the impact the Talent Coach Programme has had on Guatemala’s talent ID processes. Perhaps most obviously, the FFG’s scouting network has expanded massively under the programme, from two people (including Fajardo) in 2020 to a team of 26 full-time staff in 2025. He also emphasises how the programme’s work has been tailored to Guatemala’s specific circumstances. For example, thanks to the regional structure of the talent identification system, the Guatemalan FA can now cover the whole country and monitor young players abroad, especially in the large diaspora in the United States. Once identified, players are assigned to one of four tiers according to their potential, with the best being selected for youth national teams. 

Part 3: FIFA Talent Academy Guatemala
Once Talent ID was established as the first pillar of the Guatemalan FA’s strategy, the next challenge was to bring Guatemala’s regional football associations and its “private” football ecosystem into the TDS programme. Vicent Benlloch outlines how they approached this task, before Fajardo concludes the main presentation by demonstrating how an U-15 side might prepare for a competition. As he is keen to stress, the focus on the training ground and in matches is firmly on developing players and staff for the senior national side. Early exposure to competition is key to this overall strategy, and the FFG is keen to create more opportunities for their youngsters to compete.

00:00
In your opinion, how have the structural changes FFG has made benefited the talent ID system?

05:00
How do you plan to change the association’s competition schedule in line with the Guatemalan FA’s internal analysis?

18:30
What are the biggest challenges for the association as it looks to fill the gaps in the competition schedule and create high-performance competitions for young players?