FIFA aim to 'raise standards' of football coaching with key workshop in Dubai

FIFA's Coaching Development Team has joined forces with technical experts from all six confederations for a technical development workshop in Dubai.

Technical leaders from pilot programmes in the USA, Australia, Senegal and Brazil shared findings from their own workshops in the interest of spreading best coaching practices globally.

"The long-term aim of this FIFA Coaching Development programme is to raise the standards of coaching education worldwide," said Branimir Ujevic, FIFA's Head of Coaching Development.

"As a message from the FIFA President in the 2020 to 2023 Vision of making football truly global, our task is to try to align the same standards - or similar standards - and benchmarks all over the world".

This involves high-level collaboration between FIFA technical experts and FIFA member associations (MAs), who are also given access to the resources on the Training Centre platform.

"In Brazil, we have already implemented it. It was extremely successful. We already have seven coach educators certified," said Mauricio Marques, Head of Education at the Brazilian Football Confederation.

"We are going to have 20 coach educators certified already by the end of July, and I can guarantee it is already affecting the quality of the teaching, the quality of the interactions that the Brazilian instructors are promoting in terms of producing better coaches and obviously, producing better players."

The workshop consisted of classroom lessons, practical sessions and demonstrations from the member associations that have already undertaken their own programmes.

"I am becoming more and more aware of what FIFA brings to Africa in terms of football development today. And the results that African countries are obtaining in competitions are testament to that," said Mayacine Mar, Technical Director at the Senegalese Football Federation.

"During the African Cup of Nations, you cannot really say there were any powerhouses because the so-called stronger countries had difficulties overcoming those that were considered weaker."

To make football truly global, FIFA aims to align similar standards and benchmarks across the globe.While the organisation may be leading the programme, individual Member associations can be proactive and adapt the guidelines to suit their own situation and needs.