WARREN Moon doesn't see how his progression to the top job at A-League club Brisbane Roar will impact on their relationship with Port Macquarie.
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Moon remains the Roar Academy's general manager after they formed a partnership with East Coast Futsal in December last year to provide talented players with a path to professional football.
He is required to balance current club duties with the Queenslanders while the COVID-19 pandemic continues, but he confirmed it won't affect the partnership with the region.
In fact, it might even strengthen it as he has seen first-hand what talent there is on the Mid-North Coast.
"We're still committed to what we're doing," Moon said.
In February, Port Macquarie became the location for one of eight talent identification hubs in an area stretching from North Queensland down to the Mid-North Coast.
It joined other locations such as the Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.
"Right now we haven't made any structural changes at the club so I'm still overseeing the academy in the interim, but the vision we've got will remain with our programs and our talent ID centres will stay the same," he said.
Moon confirmed they were still committed to the region and believed there needed to be a pathway for young players.
"Nothing will change from that perspective from a club point of view," he said.
The uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and how football will look heading into the future has provided many clubs with an opportunity to assess their development programs.
Limited overseas travel will result in fewer players signing with A-League clubs which Moon felt would result in more opportunities for local products.
"In the long-term, we as a club and the A-League as a whole post-COVID need to look to the youth ... we need to look to players coming out of our programs and our academies," he said.
"I've got full belief in these players when they come through and a lot of clubs have taken the view of focusing on those players.
That's why talent identification programs are so important.
"We recognise the opportunity to blood our own talent and give them a go is the right way to go," Moon said.
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