British youngsters with ambitions to forge a successful career in football development will be eligible to apply for a United Nations (UN) leadership programme after the body formalised its relationship with the Football Association (FA).

The organisations have “worked closely” since 2014, with the FA sending delegations to South Korea, Germany, Japan and the US to share expertise in youth development.

Now the pair have signed an agreement that will give 18-25 year-old youth leaders the chance to participate in the Youth Leadership Programme with like-minded individuals from other nations.

The participants will attend “intensive camps” where they will receive training from “leading organisations” about best practices for sport for development and peace.

Wilfred Lemke, UN secretary general on sport development and peace, said: “The FA’s strengths align with our Youth Leadership Programme in the development of young people, where sport is used to empower, educate and promote development and peace.”

In addition to the programme, the FA will send national manager for youth leadership Karl Lines to Japan in March 2017 to take part with an expert exchange with the UN and Japanese Sports Council.

Jane Bateman, FA head of international relations, added: “By formalising this work together we can continue to create unique development opportunities for our young leaders while opening up new dialogue and knowledge exchange as part of our commitment to innovation and developing opportunities for all.”