Sensing that it is the lack of proper guiding machinery at the grassroots level that is hampering the growth of the game in the state, the state football association is all set to put a handful of their coaches through the AFC ‘C’-level coaching certificate course.
The course will be offered to 24 coaches affiliated to the Kerala Football Association at SAI-LNCPE centre, Kariavattom. AFC ‘C’ level certificate is mandatory for coaches to train youngsters at the grassroots level and the state football association feels that this move will help them churn out ‘learned’ coaches who, in turn, can bring up a new generation of players.
The course starts on December 6 and will last for 12 days.
“To develop football, we need to go to the grassroots level and scout for talents. The talents also should be provided training in a professional way. There comes a slight hiccup as we are facing a dearth of qualified hands. Naturally, there is a great relevance for the upcoming course,” said Anil Kumar, secretary of Kerala Football Association.
The trainees, during their course period, will be updated on physical fitness, exercise regimen, conditioning, training methodology and skills.
“The grassroots-level development is imperative for the development of Football in India. This is why AIFF (All-India Football Federation) and AFC (Asian Football Confederation) are interested in conducting grassroots-level programmes. This time around, we will bring some big names to monitor the course. Some real big names,” said Pradip Dutta, fitness trainer of the national football team and a SAI faculty. However, he refused name those ‘big guns.’
AFC had earlier used to rope in foreign resource persons from abroad. But after Dutchman Robert Baan took over the charge of technical director of AIFF, there has been a change in perception regarding the courses offered to the coaches. So, it is expected that the course at SAI-LNCPE would see the introduction of new ideas by experts.