RTL Today contributor Charlie Stone explores how a revamped youth football structure has transformed Luxembourg’s Red Lions from perennial also-rans to the verge of qualification for a major tournament.

There was a time, not so long ago, that Luxembourg was the laughing stock of European football, being mentioned in the same breath as teams such as San Marino, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein.

The Red Lions used to finish bottom of their group in every qualification campaign, and heavy defeats – such as a recent 9-0 loss against Portugal – were a regular occurrence. Yet in the last few years the tide has turned. The Luxembourg men's international team is now in very good shape and will play perhaps the biggest game in the country’s history against Georgia in Tbilisi on Thursday 21 March.

A win in the Caucasus would tee up a one-off match at the Stade de Luxembourg against either Greece or Kazakhstan for a place at UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany, a feat never before accomplished by the Grand Duchy.

But what explains this sudden rise to prominence?

The foundations of the Red Lions' success go back to 2005, when the country's governing body of football (the Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football, FLF) moved to Mondercange, establishing a centre of excellence to develop the most promising Luxembourgish talents at a young age.

Elite facilities, including an 18-metre-high inflatable structure with a heated full-size pitch inside, offer players the opportunity to train at a professional standard all year round.

Meanwhile, the federation also undertook a project to scout out the best talents across the country. Starting at the age of 9-10, the nation's top youth football teams send their three best players to regional trials.

Those selected then start to train twice a week for their respective regions (North, South, Centre & East) alongside their club commitments.

Once these children reach the age of 12, the regions are then merged, with the South joining the Centre and the North training with the East; following training camps, further cuts to the group are made until a final squad of players is selected. These players form the U-13 Luxembourgish national team.

From here on, the country's top young footballers become academy players and are nurtured and treated as professionals, with shuttle buses going to different schools across the country every day to take them back to Mondercange.

The centre of excellence has developed some great talent over the years, such as Christopher Martins (Spartak Moscow), Leandro Barreiro (currently at Mainz but moving to Benfica in the summer) and Yvandro Borges (on loan at NEC Nijmegen from Borussia Mönchengladbach).

Alongside these established professionals, the Luxembourgish youth teams have some impressive talent in the pipeline, including David Jonathans (Bayern Munich) and Aiman Dardari (Mainz).

Gone are the days when the Luxembourg national team mainly drew its players from the BGL league. Nowadays, our top talents are going abroad and competing at the highest levels.

At its core, all of this success has come as a consequence of the correct infrastructure being put into place, creating an environment for elite athletes to be developed and allowing the Red Lions to start making their fans believe.

21 March could be a historic day for Luxembourgish football – but whatever the result, there is hope that one day we could be rubbing shoulders with the world’s best footballing nations at a major tournament.