# U17 World Cup Boys & Girls Teams - birthyear matters?



## oh canada (Feb 12, 2018)

I'm a math teacher so I realize numbers and trends always interest me more than the average Jane.  Thought about this while watching the U17 Mens World Cup a couple months back.  Am I right about this?

U17 World Cups occur every two years for the boys and likewise for the girls.

U17 World Cups for boys always occur in odd years (2015, 2017, 2019)

U17 World Cups for girls always occur in even years (2016,2018, 2020)

Age cutoffs are always Jan. 1 of the birthyear that is 17 years prior to the year of the World Cup...so, boys was Jan. 1 2000 for the 2017 most recent WC in India;  in 2018, the girls U17 WC cutoff will be Jan. 1 2001.

If the above is all true, then EVEN # birthyear boys will always have a big advantage to make the WC U17 team and ODD # birthyear girls will always have a big advantage.

At the older ages -- maybe even by U20, most players have matured etc. so doesn't make as much difference, but at U17, there can be a huge difference between a 16yr.-9mos old boy or girl and a 15yr-3 mos old.   

Is there a big tournament in the WC "off" years for the disadvantaged birthyears in each gender to have the advantage?


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## MakeAPlay (Feb 13, 2018)

oh canada said:


> I'm a math teacher so I realize numbers and trends always interest me more than the average Jane.  Thought about this while watching the U17 Mens World Cup a couple months back.  Am I right about this?
> 
> U17 World Cups occur every two years for the boys and likewise for the girls.
> 
> ...


You are correct.  It matters less down the road.  Just because a player was on the U17 World Cup team does not necessarily predict future success.  It just means that they were identified at 14 or 15 years old.


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