Dutchman Jan Versleijen has been appointed head coach of Australia's under-20 team and in charge of the Australian Institute of Sport football programme, Football Federation Australia said Tuesday.

The appointment continues a heavy Dutch emphasis on Australia's football coaching and development structure, with Pim Verbeek heading the national team and Rob Baan as national technical director.

Versleijen, 53, who replaces Australian Steve O'Connor at the AIS, has extensive coaching experience in the Netherlands, Asia and the Middle East.

He has coached at senior and youth levels at Dutch clubs Venlo, Roda and Go Ahead Eagles, JEF United in Japan, as well as clubs in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Versleijen has also coached the Dutch U-17 and U-23 teams.

"This is a significant addition to our senior national coaching staff," Baan said in a statement.

"The current group of players involved in the national under-20 football programme are expected to feature heavily in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2011 and 2015 Asian Cups and 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups.

"With the advent of the new national youth league competition this year, the national U-20 head coach will be extremely important for the preparation of players for not only the A-League, but also the Socceroos of the future," it said.

The next major tournament for the young Socceroos is the Asian Football Confederation U-19 championships in Saudi Arabia in November, which also doubles as the qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt next year.