Five-day FIFA Futsal coaching course kicks

OVER 30 educators and coaches of the beautiful game kicked off a detailed five-day FIFA Futsal coaching course and Grassroots Festival, at the Chaguanas Regional Indoor Sporting Arena yesterday.

This workshop is the first of its kind to be implemented in TT and is being hosted by FIFA Futsal Development Consultant and Ambassador, Graeme Dell; FIFA Beach Soccer and Futsal Development manager, Brent Rahim; TT Football Association (TTFA) president, David John-Williams, International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) coordinator (UWI), Sherlan Cabralis, the Futsal Association of TT (FATT) and the Ministry of Sport.

The programme will be held daily and climaxes, on Friday, with a Futsal Festival incorporating several teams from TT. According to the TTFA president, the sole intention of this initiative is to provide participants with a forum to discuss, share experiences, provide and receive guidance and devise strategies for strengthening the sport of Futsal in TT.

“It’s a good opportunity for the Futsal Association to have this course to get coaches certified for futsal in the country. Having these coaches now certified provides the opportunity to now have more coaches in the country, which aids us in developing a national Futsal league. Backed by certified coaches, clubs will now have qualified coaches which would aid their development. The Futsal Association can now have a number of member clubs, which would pave the way for a national competition and auger well for the National squad,” said John-Williams.

The TTFA head also commended FATT for taking affirmative action towards improving the sport on a national scale. He also acknowledged Rahim, a son of the soil, who was integral in bringing this developmental workshop to TT and held in high regard, Dell, the programme’s facilitator.

Delivering supportive remarks on behalf of the Minister of Sport, Shamfa Cudjoe, was the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Denise Arneaud, who also lauded the long term benefits of this workshop.

“The objectives of this are closely aligned to the objectives of National Sport Policy, which mandates all stakeholders in sport to ‘develop and improve the knowledge and practice of sport’ and to ‘promote and facilitate the development of sport as an industry’. Over the next five days, I anticipate fruitful discussions, and most importantly, I look forward to timely action and effective implementation,” declared Arneaud.

Over the next four days, coaches will undergo and array of interactive seminars on the laws of the game, characteristics of a futsal coach, futsal techniques, development planning and multiple practical group sessions. The closing ceremony is also scheduled for 3.30pm on the final day.

FATT vice-president concluded, “We are trying to not just expose coaches but the general public and stakeholders, as to how much the sport can contribute to the further development of football players. It’s important for coaches be attentive, interactive and receptive on what is being offered so that they can go back into the communities/football academies with not just enhanced skills, but also the tools to further develop the sport of futsal on the whole.”