German Football Coaching tips for Mizoram

On their current trip to Mizoram, German coaching instructors Lutz Pfannenstiel and Felix Imm of the German Football Association (DFB), have stated that Mizoram can produce footballers of world class if the abundant talent among young footballers is properly harnessed, as the duo feel there was no reason why budding footballers from the Northeastern state cannot graduate to world standard players.

The coaches, who are in Aizawl to train local footballers and local coaches, were pretty impressed by the potential and high spirits of the young players.

“The potential is clearly visible in the spirited and entertaining game played by the young players," former goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel said.

Lal Thanzara, President of Mizoram Football Association had requested Rainer Schmiedchen, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kolkata, to provide good coaches for Mizoram, the Consul General promptly expressed keen interest in exploring football talent in the state and took initiative to bring German coach to the state back in May 2012.

The world goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel, who is the first footballer to have played professional football in all the six continents of our planet, said that for the past few days he and Felix Imm had been watching the local Mizo football keenly and concluded that the state has enough talent to make it to international standards.

The German duo is in the process of training local football coaches who will be participating in the upcoming Mizoram Premier League.

"We hope that some coaches may be inspired by what they learned during the training to try to find those same footballing truths for themselves and having found them, apply them to their own teams in Mizoram," said the German duo.

"The players need psychological, physical, moral, medical and sports support. This is how we do it back in Germany and there is no reason why we can’t do it in India or Mizoram," Lutz said at the press confidence.

"Our sincere thanks go to Lal Thanhawla, chief minister of Mizoram who paved the way for Mizoram Football Association to meet Consul General of Germany and our President Lal Thanzara, their efforts have paid off, not only for Mizoram, but also for India," said Lalnghinglova Hmar, Honorary Secretary of the Mizoram Football Association.

The coach education programme with the German coaches started on October 1 and runs until October 6 with 28 coaches from Mizoram attended the programme.

19 Coaches pass AFC 'C' Licence Course in Cuttack

19 out of 24 coaches from the East Zone who appeared in the AFC 'C' Licence Certificate course examinations held in October 2011 in Cuttack (Orissa) have passed their examination.

These 19 coaches are now officially AFC 'C' licensed coached.


The Coaches who passed the examination

Miss Shradhanjali Samantray, Miss Gayatri Mallick, Miss Sarita Jayanti Behera, Miss Bishnu Priya Das, Mrs. Mamata K. Samanta, Mrs. Gitanjali Khuntia, Akash Basu, Sanmoy Basu, Parasar Behera, Nipendra Kumar Das, Sooraj Thapa, Akhasya Das, Ramakrishna Behera, Suprasan Nayak, Susant Chandra Mohanty, Surojit Ghosh, Abani Mohanty, Sanjeev Patasani, Suvendu Panda

Goa Football Association's AGM

The Goa Football Association held its yearly Annual General Meeting at the Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias in the state capital Panjim yesterday.

One of the main topics at the AGM was the performances of states teams at the Santosh Trophy and youth tournaments which in the recent past has been far from satisfactory. A focus would be given to a more professional approach and not short-term preparations once teams are announced. The coaching and competitions committee would be involved to make the necessary corrections.

The GFA also applauded the decision of the Goan state government to make football the state sport of Goa and ideas were exchanged as to how the GFA can improve football in Goa by working together with the newly formed Goa State Football Development Council (GSFDC).

The infrastructure situation was also discussed with the GFA set to work with the GSFDC to develop necessary grounds and training facilities. The GFA informed those present that the Duler ground would be ready by November following the delay in installation of the artificial turf pitch, while the federation had been informed by its vice-president Elvis Gomes who also happens to be the SAG ED that government had assured him to have a small-size stadium at Campal ready in two years time.

Meanwhile a grand total of 106 GFA officials and organisers were felicitated for their contribution to Goan football. The list included 38 from Bardez, 42 from Salcete, 13 from Ilhas and 13 from Mormugao who have worked tirelessly for many years to organise GFA matches which stands at 968 matches last season.

The GFA president Srinivas Dempo also paid homage to the three members of the Goan football fraternity who sadly passed away in the last season - Adolfo Viegas, a former GFA general secretary who played a key role in the early development of the Association; Duler stadium football manager Jerome Fernandes who looked after the GFA's home stadium with aplomb and Antonio Colaco who also provided yeoman services to the Association.

Times Now VIDEO: Big step forward for Indian football

Here a report from Times Now on the five-day coaching seminar organised by the All India Football Federation, which has come in for praise from the participating coaches and instructors who found it quite useful.

AIFF Coaching Seminar concludes with Football Festival

Friday morning just couldn't have been brighter though dark clouds were overhead and the monsoon rains came down once in a while. But the weather failed to the dampen the spirits of the 60 kids aged 6-12 who had come over for the Football Festival at the Father Agnel School Ground in Navi Mumbai. The kids got drenched in the rain; the parents took shelter under the bright umbrellas in the galleries. None ran away. Only the kids ran with and after the ball on the turf.

"The Festival was a huge success. It was evident the kids were enjoying every bit of it. But I felt the Coaches enjoyed it more than them. It was an opportunity for the Coaches to show their personalities and behave in a practical manner," Rob Baan, the AIFF's Technical Director commented.

"It was wonderful to see a new generation enjoying themselves on the field. The challenge stays where and how do we nurture and coach them. But we will have to," Wim Koevermans, the new India National Coach opined.

Never a miser to compliment the tiny tots, the Coaches encouraged the kids as they tried to dribble, fumbled, fell down but got up immediately to recover. The 60 kids were divided into 10 teams and each of the teams got a chance to participate in each of the sessions which ranged from match to skill testing to shooting, etc.

Trisha, the sole girl among the 60 kids summed up the sentiment. "Can't we play for another ten minutes?" she queried to her coach Gautam Ghosh as the session unfolded. Every kid was presented with a football by Baan, Koevermans and Father Almeida, the Managing Director of the Father Agnel Group of Schools.

"This sort of Festival should be a part of the curriculum. We need to have ten such festivals in a week organised all over the country," said Scott O'Donell, the Technical Director of the AIFF Regional and Elite Academies.

The day also witnessed Raymond Farrelly from Coach FX making a presentation on animation analysis of various match related coaching sessions as the five-day Coaching Seminar came to an end.

"Such Seminars need to be repeated more often. We intend to organise it in every state. But the manpower and the financial aspects stay the biggest challenge," Rob Baan concluded.

Maybe the AIFF bosses are listening in the interest of Indian football.

Scott O'Donell: Do not pigeonhole your players

The future of Indian football is all about Youth Development Programme (YDP). The delicate issue that Coaching at the YDP is, was highlighted yesterday at the AIFF Coaching through the manner in which young players should to be coached.

Scott O'Donell, Technical Director of the AIFF Regional and Elite Academies urged the coaches to understand the psyche of the young kids to make the YDP an overwhelming success. "When you coach kids, you need to be a part of them. You need to reduce the anxiety and stress and make your sessions fun filled ones so that the kids long to come back to your sessions," he said.

"It's imperative to give chance to every player to play in every position till the age of 10. You need to be flexible," O'Donell added. "You should never pigeon hole your players."

The theoretical session was substantiated by two practical sessions at the Father Agnel Ground – 'Skill Testing' conducted by Technical Director Rob Baan in the morning and 'Implementing Match Related Coaching into AFC Coaching Courses' was conducted both by Baan and O'Donell.

"When you coach young players, you need to focus on the technical side rather than the tactical strategies. The boys need to enjoy and start loving the sport. Only then can you develop them into good players," O'Donell reiterated. "The players need to be involved all the time. Give them the licence to be creative so that technically, they are able to make the right choice."

The five-day Seminar concludes today when a Grassroots Festival will be organised in the morning followed by a guest lecture from Raymond Farrelly from Coach FX and a Group Discussion in the afternoon.

AIFF Coaching Seminar gets positive Feedback from Participants

After getting off to a slow start the ongoing All India Football Federation Coaching Seminar in Navi Mumbai came in for praise from the participating Coaches and Instructors. The facilities at the seminar hotel, the food and the arrangements, the logistics and most importantly, the knowledge being passed on have simply bowled over the 65 participants.

Former India Captain, creative midfielder Prasanta Banerjee says, "I came here expecting value addition. Rob Baan, Wim Koevermans and Scott O'Donell are laying emphasis on building from the back. Modern football is all about looking forward. The finer aspects of 4-3-3 is being stressed upon," he says.

"The Seminar is a fantastic initiative which was long overdue," commented Pradhyum Reddy Shillong Lajong's Scottish born coach. "I only hope this is the first of many more such Seminars. There has always been a disconnect between the National Coach and the Coaches at the top level with the Club Coaches and Coaches at the development level," he adds.

"In the UK and the US, such Coaching Conventions stay common where the philosophy is taught and told and the participants become more responsible learning the finer aspects."

The Seminar which comprises of both theoretical and practical sessions is being held at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Navi Mumbai and the Father Agnel School Ground, respectively.

There's a buzz every morning. The participants look smart in their kits, sign the attendance sheet, take their seats and then the notes. "It reminds me of my school days," smiles former India winger Gautam Ghosh. "We need to be flexible to envelope the extra bit of knowledge. If you have any ego, you will not learn."

Ghosh's room partner Tanumoy Basu, a former India goalkeeper presently the Goalkeeping Coach of the India Under-22s and Pailan Arrows feels, "the Seminar reflects the positive mindset of the All India Football Federation."

"The Academies promise us the future; Pailan Arrows builds up towards the future; Seminars like this explain to us what is needed to get to the future. And mind you, all of them are being stitched in one thread. The YDP is in full flow and there's synchronisation among all. I credit and thank (Kushal) Das for his efforts," Basu maintains.

You reflect for a moment and understand Basu is right. Former National Coach Savio Medeira complements Basu. "As a Coach you need to enhance yourself and stay updated. The handbook provided is very useful indeed," he opines.

"There's no more confusion. The Technical Director has told us what he wants us to do with our clubs," Godfrey Pereira, newly appointed Air India coach and also a former India International says. "The practices need to be match centric. There can't be any static movements. You always need to move and run with the ball. There's a more realistic and definite approach. I need to thank AIFF for arranging such a seminar."

You move around. There's a team working 24x7 supervising the facilities at the Hotel, the food, the daily needs and taking care of the logistics. "I'd say here's quality all around. The clothing provided to us have been good and I appreciate the treatment and the pain taken to make us comfortable," Ajit Braich, someone who has come all the way from Canada, explains. Braich stays the Head Youth Coach at Vancouver Whitecaps.

"I have attended many such Seminars and I need to tell you the sessions have been informative. In Football you can't beat around the bush and that's what is being stressed upon. I credit the AIFF for the initiative," he comments.

Syed Shabir Pasha, also a former India International adds, "Every theory is being backed and demonstrated in the practical sessions. That's what enlightens a Coach," Pasha echoes.

Rob Baan: Promise that you will scout me a kid in 30 days!

The All India Football Federation's Technical Director Rob Baan made an emotional request to the 65 participants of the AIFF Coaching Seminar by asking them, "Promise me, all of you will come back to me within a month with a kid who you believe has the potential to play for India in the future," Baan utters. "You are my scouts. By now, you ought to know as to what kind of player I am looking for," he adds. "Can You? Promise me," Baan stresses again.

"Yes we will," the Coaches and the Instructors answer back.

"You can even give me more than one boy," Baan goes further. "We will have a trial for the kid and if we find him good enough, we will enroll him," he informed.

The Dutchman is clear that he alone cannot change Indian football and that coaches working at the grassroots have to work with him to develop Indian football and especially scout and find young talented footballers.

On the other side the age-old issue of age-fraud stays the biggest challenge for the AIFF at the moment; and at the Coaching Seminar in Navi Mumbai, the issue just makes rounds almost everyday.

"This has been prevalent for long. The State Associations need to be more serious," Colm Joseph Toal, Head Coach Youth Development, adds. "Just look what happened in the camp in Kalyani," Colm shakes his head.

With a vision to get boys for the four Regional Academies, the AIFF, had since September 2011 scouted over 170 boys from various age-group tournaments, Under-14 Fests and Open Trials which were conducted across the length and breadth of the country by Baan and Scott O'Donell, Technical Director, Regional and Elite Academies.

The selected U-14 boys were then kept in a Camp in Kalyani for over a month after which the list was filtered to a final list of 120. But when medically tested, 84 out of 120 were found overage. The Camp was for U-14 boys but some of them were found to be even over 17!

"It seems, we just need to conduct tests almost everyday," Colm shrugs. "The money went waste, the effort and energy went waste; it's so much frustrating and discouraging for the development of the sport in the country," he laments.

The result was for all to see. The launch of the AIFF Regional Academies had to be delayed. "But they stay on track. We have to have them and we will," O'Donell informs. The second AIFF Regional Academy is all set to launch in Bangalore in September 2012 and then the next one at Pailan World School in Kolkata later this year.

"Open Trials are not a realistic approach," O’Donell exclaims. "In Kolkata, we had over 1000 boys appearing for the trials. It's hard to handle that much of a lot."

Toal hits the nail on the head when he says, "It's about the honesty of individuals. Be it Coaches, be it Administrators, somewhere people stay desperate to win even at the U-14 level. But at that level, it's all about development than winning," he echoes.

AIFF's Medical Consultant Dr. Manabendra Bhattacharya who's also attending the Seminar feels 'age verification is a complicated process'.

"This is rampant across all age groups and all sports. But how do you stop it. Off-course, we can determine it by tests; tests which reveal the dental age, secondary sexual characters and the bone age," he informed.

It is a difficult task for Rob Baan. His wait continues – the Coaches are supposed to get back to him within a month.

Koevermans: Keep opposition in mind while organising a practice session

New Indian National Coach Wim Koevermans emphasized and demonstrated various match related situations both in theory and practical sessions as the AIFF Coaching Seminar gathered further shape in Navi Mumbai today.

"All practice sessions need to be organised keeping the opposition in mind. The players need to be taught and encouraged to express match related behavior while in practice," he stressed which the 65 participants took note of. "As Coaches, all of us need to develop our own concept and prepare likewise. The build-up stays the most integral part," Koevermans opined.

Koevermans who was speaking on 'How to play various systems?' often turned to the drawing board to explain what he was referring to. "The aim is to find that extra spare man in the midfield. You always have to find one – at any cost," he added, as he explained various formations and how to counter them on the field.

He backed all the theories with a practical demonstration later at the Father Agnel ground where the first AIFF Regional Academy is based.

Earlier in the day, Technical Director Rob Baan conducted another practical session – 'Skill Development -- from Technique to Tactics'.

Understanding that modern coaching needs to work hand in hand with Medical Science, there was a separate session conducted by Dr. Manabendra Bhattacharya, the AIFF's Medical Consultant. A sports medicine expert with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Bhattacharya made a presentation on 'Medical Care and treatment of Youth Players – including age verification', where he stressed monitoring of basic health parameters and emergency situations on the pitch.

He urged the coaches to be extra cautious in case of match related injuries and react immediately. "Medical Science teaches us that an off the ball collapse can lead to death within 180 seconds. So you need to react at lightning speed fast," he explained.

Dr. Bhattacharya felt extra care should be taken to immunize players and personal hygiene. "It's absurd that Indian clubs don't care about adult immunization at all. In most cases, players are contracted for an average 40 lakh on an annual basis but the clubs stay reluctant to immunize players for another Rs. 3000. In the process, the clubs lose the services of the players and football suffers," he maintained.

"Age verification is a very complicated process," he added. "It's mostly determined by secondary sexual characters, dental age and bone age, depending on the appearance and fusion of ossification centres which can be directed by X-rays and MRI tests."

He also had a detailed interactive session wherein he nullified many a false myth about women footballers.


The list of participants

Godfrey Pereira, Noushad Moosa, Kundan Chandran, Shaikh Arshad Hussain, Abdul Azim Siddique, Nirvan Shah, Aqueel Ansari, Khalid Jamil, Raghuvir Pravin Khanolkar, Augusto D'Silva, Faruk Ahmed, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari (all Maharashtra); Birbal Singh, Ekendra Singh, Bitan Singh (all Manipur); R. Thyagraj, Stanley Rozario, Thomas Joseph, John Kenneth Raj, Mastan Ahmed, P. Muralidharan (all Karnataka), Prasanta Banerjee, Gautam Ghosh (both West Bengal), Parthasarathy Thulasi, Syed Sabir Pasha, C.M. Ranjith (all Tamil Nadu); S. Geevarghese, C.J. Charles, P.M. Saji, Biby Thomas, Satheevan Balan, Feroz Sheriff, Narayana Menon (all Kerala); William Koso (Nagaland); Maymol Rocky, Marcus Anthony Pachecho, Francisco Bruto da Costa, Jude Barreto, Savio Medeira, Mario Aguiar (all Goa), Tarun Roy, Anadi Baruah (both Delhi); Sajid Yusuf, Hilal Parray (both J&K); Surinder Singh (Chandigarh)

Coaches from Clubs/Academies: Tanumoy Basu (Pailan Arrows); Bino George (Chirag United Kerala), Arun Pratap (Chirag United Kerala Academy); Deepak (Kerala FA Academy); Sujay Sharma, Arata Izumi (both Pune FC); Ahmed Aslam Khan (SAI, Bangalore); Mathew D'Costa, Gavin Araujo (both Dempo); Augustine Antao, Joaquim Crasto (both Salgaocar); Suren Chhetri, Pranai Subba (both United Sikkim FC); Richard Hood (Tata Football Academy); Manoj Kumar (SEPT, Calicut); Pradyuman Reddy (Shillong Lajong FC); Sunil Chaudhury, Cetano Pinho (both ONGC); Ajit Braich (Canada)

AIFF Coaching Seminar kicks-off in Navi Mumbai

The first-ever AIFF Coaching Seminar kicked-off in Navi Mumbai today with 65 participants coming to listen to Technical Director Rob Baan, National Coach Wim Koevermans, Technical Director of the Regional and Elite Academies Scott O'Donell besides AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das and former India Captain Baichung Bhutia.

Amongst the 65 participants there are numerous former players around; players whom we all have adored over the years. There's Prasanta Banerjee, there's Godfrey Pereira, there's Tanumoy Basu, there's Khalid Jamil, there's Syed Sabir Pasha, there's Savio Medeira, there's Aqueel Ansari, there's Noushad Moosa… the list just seems to have no end.

The aim of the Seminar is to produce better coaches and players with a 'match related approach'.

AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan conducted the first session of the Seminar, his 'Vision to develop Indian Football'. That was followed by National Coach Wim Koevermans' session in the afternoon – 'What is Football?' while Baan’s practical session, 'Coaching, the Match related Approach,' stayed the last session of the day.

The India Under-17 National squad who trains at the Centre of Excellence in Goa and has come over to Navi Mumbai to take part in the practical sessions stayed Baan's wards as the Technical Director demonstrated the 'Match Related Approach' and had interactive sessions with the Coaches.

Earlier, AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das welcomed the guests and spoke on the ‘Long-term future of Indian Football', while guest speaker former India Captain Baichung Bhutia shared his experiences.

"It's imperative we all understand the future philosophy of Indian football," Das said. "The Seminar stays a significant step taken by our Technical Team as we need to look forward," he added.

"Coach Education stays perhaps the most significant aspect if we are to create an Indian style of play as we have intended," Baan stressed.

"To improve the standard of the football in the country, we need to select the best players. But prior to that, we need to train and groom them. We as Coaches stay responsible for that," O'Donell, who will be conducting both theoretical and practical sessions in the next four days, emphasized.

The theoretical sessions are being held at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Navi Mumbai while the practical sessions at the Father Agnel ground, where the first AIFF Regional Academy is based.

National Coach Wim Koevermans maintained the Seminar gives one an opportunity to 'express himself'.

"The next five-days are important. The philosophy needs to be understood by all," Koevermans, who was a part of the Dutch squad which win the 1988 European Cup, opined.

"Let's not stay stuck in the 60s and the 70s. Let's embrace the new concepts," Baichung commented. "From my experience, I have starved for the right kind of training for long. This initiative by AIFF is an excellent one. It's the right beginning," he added.


The list of participants

Godfrey Pereira, Noushad Moosa, Kundan Chandran, Shaikh Arshad Hussain, Abdul Azim Siddique, Nirvan Shah, Aqueel Ansari, Khalid Jamil, Raghuvir Pravin Khanolkar, Augusto D'Silva, Faruk Ahmed, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari (all Maharashtra); Birbal Singh, Ekendra Singh, Bitan Singh (all Manipur); R. Thyagraj, Stanley Rozario, Thomas Joseph, John Kenneth Raj, Mastan Ahmed, P. Muralidharan (all Karnataka), Prasanta Banerjee, Gautam Ghosh (both West Bengal), Parthasarathy Thulasi, Syed Sabir Pasha, C.M. Ranjith (all Tamil Nadu); S. Geevarghese, C.J. Charles, P.M. Saji, Biby Thomas, Satheevan Balan, Feroz Sheriff, Narayana Menon (all Kerala); William Koso (Nagaland); Maymol Rocky, Marcus Anthony Pachecho, Francisco Bruto da Costa, Jude Barreto, Savio Medeira, Mario Aguiar (all Goa), Tarun Roy, Anadi Baruah (both Delhi); Sajid Yusuf, Hilal Parray (both J&K); Surinder Singh (Chandigarh)

Coaches from Clubs/Academies: Tanumoy Basu (Pailan Arrows); Bino George (Chirag United Kerala), Arun Pratap (Chirag United Kerala Academy); Deepak (Kerala FA Academy); Sujay Sharma, Arata Izumi (both Pune FC); Ahmed Aslam Khan (SAI, Bangalore); Mathew D'Costa, Gavin Araujo (both Dempo); Augustine Antao, Joaquim Crasto (both Salgaocar); Suren Chhetri, Pranai Subba (both United Sikkim FC); Richard Hood (Tata Football Academy); Manoj Kumar (SEPT, Calicut); Pradyuman Reddy (Shillong Lajong FC); Sunil Chaudhury, Cetano Pinho (both ONGC); Ajit Braich (Canada)

AIFF Coaching Seminar to highlight on 'Match related' Coaching

A five-day Coaching Seminar organised by the All India Football Federation kicks-off in Navi Mumbai tomorrow. The Seminar, a first of its kind in India, will be conducted by AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan, National Coach Wim Koevermans and Scott O'Donell, Technical Director of the Regional and Elite Academies.

Colm Joseph Toal, Head Coach, Youth Development will also be expressing his views at the Seminar, while former India captain Baichung Bhutia will be a guest speaker as will be the AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das. Raymond Farrelly of Coach FX will also attend as a Guest Speaker.

65 Coaches from all over India including AIFF Contracted Coaches and Coaches from I-League Clubs have confirmed their participation. The Seminar intends to educate and produce better Coaches and players via "match related" coaching.

Baan feels it will be "nice to interact with so many Coaches in the Seminar."

"I look forward to receiving inputs from all of them," Baan added.

The opening day kicks-off with Kushal Das dishing out plans for the long term future of Indian football with Baan and Koevermans conducting sessions on 'Overall vision to improve Indian Football' and "What is football?," respectively while Bhutia stays the guest speaker. In the afternoon, Baan and O’Donell would also be conducting the theoretical session, 'Coaching, the match related approach.'

The theoretical sessions would be held at the Royal Orchid Hotel while the practical sessions will be conducted at the Father Agnel School ground where the first AIFF Regional Academy is located.


The list of participants

Godfrey Pereira, Noushad Moosa, Kundan Chandran, Shaikh Arshad Hussain, Abdul Azim Siddique, Nirvan Shah, Aqueel Ansari, Khalid Jamil, Raghuvir Pravin Khanolkar, Augusto D'Silva, Faruk Ahmed, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari (all Maharashtra); Birbal Singh, Ekendra Singh, Bitan Singh (all Manipur); R. Thyagraj, Stanley Rozario, Thomas Joseph, John Kenneth Raj, Mastan Ahmed, P. Muralidharan (all Karnataka), Prasanta Banerjee, Gautam Ghosh (both West Bengal), Parthasarathy Thulasi, Syed Sabir Pasha, CM Ranjith (all Tamil Nadu); S. Geevarghese, C.J. Charles, P.M. Saji, Biby Thomas, Satheevan Balan, Feroz Sheriff, Narayana Menon (all Kerala); William Koso (Nagaland); Maymol Rocky, Marcus Pachecho, Francisco Bruto da Costa, Jude Barreto, Savio Medeira, Mario Aguiar (all Goa), Tarun Roy, Anadi Baruah (both Delhi); Sajid Yusuf, Hilal Parray (both J&K); Surinder Singh (Chandigarh)

Coaches from Clubs/Academies: Tanumoy Basu (Pailan Arrows); Bino George (Chirag United Kerala), Arun Pratap (Chirag United Kerala Academy); Deepak (Kerala FA Academy); Sujay Sharma, Arata Izumi (both Pune FC); Ahmed Aslam Khan (SAI, Bangalore); Mathew D'Costa, Gavin Araujo (both Dempo); Augustine Antao, Joaquim Crasto (both Salgaocar); Suren Chhetri, Pranai Subba (both United Sikkim FC); Richard Hood (Tata Football Academy); Manoj Kumar (SEPT, Calicut); Pradyuman Reddy (Shillong Lajong FC); Sunil Chaudhury, Cetano Pinho (both ONGC); Ajit Braich (Canada)

Five-day AIFF Coaching Seminar to be held from July 16

The All India Football Federation will be organising a five-day Coaching Seminar in Navi Mumbai from July 16 to 20. The AIFF's Technical Director Rob Baan; National Coach Wim Koevermans; the Technical Director of the Regional and Elite Academies Scott O'Donell, Head Coach of the Youth Development programme Colm Joseph Toal will be addressing the Seminar.

The Opening day will also have former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia as a Guest Speaker and the AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das will be addressing the gathering on the long-term future of Indian football.

"We have invited around 70 coaches for the seminar including all the Coaches from all the I-League Clubs and all AIFF Contracted Coaches," Kushal Das informed.

"The Seminar gives us the opportunity to exchange knowledge and discuss our new vision for the future development of Indian football," said AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan. "We also hope the coaches will provide us a lot of inputs," Baan added.

Baan, Koevermans and O'Donell would also be imparting practical session classes to the participants. The theoretical sessions would be held at the Royal Orchid Hotel in Navi Mumbai while the Practical Sessions would be conducted at the Father Agnel School Ground in Navi Mumbai where the AIFF's First Regional Academy has been set-up.

"This is the first major Coaching Clinic organised by AIFF's Technical Team. It will showcase the new philosophy which is being implemented in Indian football in terms of Coach Education, style of play and talent development," Kushal Das maintained.

"I'm sure the Seminar would unearth some exciting young concepts which will serve Indian football in good stead in the future."

There would also be separate sessions conducted by Dr. Manabendra Bhattacharya on Medical Care and Treatment of youth players (including age verification) and one by Pradip Dutta on Physical Preparation of young players.

Royal Wahingdoh appoint German Volker Hofferbert as new coach

I-League Divison 2 side Royal Wahingdoh FC based in Shillong a few days ago appointed 63 year old German Volker Hofferbert as their new head coach, who will guide them through the 2012/13 season with Carlton Chapman continuing in his role as assistant coach while Maipuri L. Nandakumar Singh has also joined the teams coaching staff.

While the aim for the season remains promotion to the I-League, under the new coach Hofferbert Royal Wahingdoh FC made a successful start into the 2012 Shillong Premier League which kicked-off today with a 1-0 victory against Nangkiew Irat. Jackichand Singh scored the winner a minute from time off a penalty.

63 year old Volker Hofferbert brings a wealth of experience from around the world to Shillong having coached in Brazil, Iceland, Indonesia, Laos, Mexico, Romania and Yemen besides having been a professor at the Cologne Sports University in Germany.

The signing of Hofferbert follows a visit by Royal Wahingdoh FC in May 2012 to Germany in which the clubs team had trained for the first time on European soil.

Alvito & Gouramangi complete Level 2 Coaching License

Former Indian international and East Bengal Club legend Alvito Rolando Correia D'Cunha besides current Indian international centre-back Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh have both completed the first step in their Level 2 Coaching License held at the FC Middlesbrough Academy in Darlington, UK over the last few days. They will return in few months for the assessment to complete their UK Level 2 Coaching License.

Both the players repeatedly said that were very happy about the course as they learned a lot of things which will help them progress in the future as coaches. The course instructor Ian Kerr took special care of his Indian students who were very thankful for the help provided.

They were also delighted by the fact that many other professional footballers did the course with them, amongst them numerous EPL player including former England international Jonathan Woodgate.

The standard of learning and teaching was good although it was long days of learning, which are unusual for football players, but still both Alvito and Mangi enjoyed it and learnt a lot in the course. The two will be back somewhere between three months to one year to sit for the final assessment test and complete the Level 2 Coaching Licence. Both are planning to start their 'B' Coaching License by next summer and build on what they have learned in this course.

The UK Level 2 Coaching License course has been made possible for Alvito and Gouramangi by the English 'Professional Footballers Association', who have tied-up with the Football Players Association of India to provide courses for Indian footballers from now on and in the future. The hope of the FPAI/PFA is to develop quality coaches from the pool of former Indian players.

AIFF organised Coaches Workshop concludes in New Delhi

The three-day Coaches Workshop for Coaches concluded at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi earlier today. The Workshop which was conducted by AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan and Scott O'Donell, Technical Manager for Regional and Elite Academies, was attended by 12 Indian Coaches plus a Coach from Australia.

This was the second such Workshop which was organised by the All India Football Federation – the earlier one being held in the Capital from January 13 - 15, 2012.

The Workshop came in for praise from the participants. Former Team India Assistant Coach Stanley Rozario, who has also coached the Kolkata Big-Two, felt the Workshop was a breath of fresh air. "It was nice to refresh myself. Such a Workshop was long due and it was nice to be a part of it. Both Rob and Scott stressed on playing possessional football. It was great to interact with them," Stanley said.

Narayana Menon, India's Under-23 Assistant Coach at the Pre-Olympic qualifiers, added, "The focus is now shifting on the juniors. The intention is to create players who will be the flag-bearer for Indian football in the future. My only regret stays that it only lasted three days. It would have been excellent if we could spend more time at the Workshop."

The Workshop had different Theoretical and Practical Sessions – while the Theoretical sessions were held at Clarks Inn at Lajpat Nagar, the practical sessions were conducted at the Ambedkar Stadium.

Besides the Indian coaches, Arthur Pappas from Australia also attended the Workshop and said "it was nice to be in India."

"It is very important for Indian football to develop Indian Coaches. The Workshop was very innovative and helpful indeed," Arthur explained.

"This concept was a new one. The Workshop highlighted a style which Rob and Scott believe will take Indian football forward. I thank the All India Football Federation for arranging such a Workshop," Meghalaya's Thangboi Singto, Shillong Lajong FC's Assistant Coach, commented.

The list of the coaches stay as follows:

Thangboi Singto (Meghalaya), Satheevan Balan, Narayana Menon (both Kerala), Stanley Rozario (Karnataka), Subrata Bhattacharya, Satyabrata Bhowmick, Mridul Kanti Banerjee, Ranjan Bhattacharya (all West Bengal), Anadi Barua (Delhi), Santanu Basu, Bidhan Das (both Assam), Keshav Dutt (Haryana)

Alvito D'Cunha set to get into Coaching

Alvito Rolando Correia D'Cunha is a seasoned footballer on the Indian football circuit who has seen and done it all. Alvito was the first Goan to really make it on the Kolkata Maidans and now a decade later he is a living legend at East Bengal Club. But getting older also means looking at what one does after the end of the playing career and Alvito has set his sights on coaching. This season Alvito has often been assistant coach to Trevor Morgan besides making a comeback on the field after a serious injury last season.

Now Alvito D'Cunha is set travel to England to participate in the FA (England) organised 1st 4Sport Level 2 Certificate course from May 21 to 25, which is equivalent to the AFC 'C' license degree. The course will be held at the facilities of English Championship club Middlesbrough FC under tutor Ian Kerr.

When I asked Alvito he said, "It's the start of my second innings! And that's coaching for me which I always thought of taking-up seriously after my football career."

The course has been made possible for Alvito by the English 'Professional Footballers Association', who have tied-up with the Football Players Association of India to provide courses for Indian footballers from now on and in the future. The hope is to develop quality coaches from the pool of former players.

I wish Alvito all the best and that he becomes a quality coach like he was a class footballer!

AIFF TD Baan to conduct Workshop for Coaches

The All India Football Federation would be organising a Coaches Workshop from April 13 - 15, 2012 in New Delhi. The Workshop would be conducted by AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan and Scott O'Donell, the Technical Manager for Regional and Elite Academies.


The timings for the practical sessions which would be conducted at the Ambedkar Stadium stay as follows:

Friday – April 13: 3 pm to 6 pm

Saturday – April 14: 9 am to 12.30 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm

Sunday – April 15: 9 am to 12.30 pm


The list of the coaches stay as follows:

Thangboi Singto (Meghalaya), Raman Vijayan (Tamil Nadu), Satheevan Balan, Narayana Menon (both Kerala), Stanley Rozario (Karnataka), Subrata Bhattacharya, Satyabrata Bhowmick, Mridul Kanti Banerjee, Ranjan Bhattacharya (all West Bengal), Anadi Barua (Delhi), Santanu Basu, Bidhan Das (both Assam), Keshav Dutt (Haryana)

Besides the Indian coaches, Arthur Pappas from Australia will also be attending the Workshop.

Interview with PIO Coach Sudesh Singh from South Africa

Sudesh Singh is a South African coach of Indian origin whom I know for many, many years. In my informal series of highlighting footballers and coaches of Indian origin, today I bring to you an interview with Sudesh Singh, whom one gets to know better through the interview.


Please tell the readers a little bit about your background? Where were you born? Family roots?

I was born 47 years ago in Germiston (on the outskirts of Johannesburg) to parents, Jimmy and Manjory (now late) Singh. Grew up, schooled in Newcastle (KwaZulu Natal), where my love affair with football started from a very young age. Starting my own youth club at 12 (!), being player, coach, secretary, chairman, kit manager, etc! Football was a big thing in my family as we had strong family links, owning football clubs, uncles gaining National caps (South African Indians' national team), due to segregation/apartheid.

I was privileged to have had my paternal grandmum around during my early years, but both sets of grandparents were second generation Indians in South Africa, with their parents possibly being amongst the first group of 'Indentured-workers' brought to South Africa by the Colonial powers during that period.


How it all start for you in football?

My life has always been about football and it still is! After gaining various honours at youth/school level, I signed as a professional player for local club, Newcastle Dynamos at 18. Although I had been offered trials at some London-based clubs at that time (arranged by a late uncle, living in London) my dream/quest was always to establish myself as a regular for my local club, and in South African football.

As the South African football leagues' were 'racially' segregated (1980's), my club Dynamos were playing in the Federation Pro League(FPL), mainly for people of Indian, mixed-race descent. We then moved over to the National Pro Soccer League (NPSL) which was strictly for people of Indigenous African descent, as we could envision all League's merging in near future. The other league was the National Football League,strictly for whites' only!

I played professional football successfully for about seven years then had a serious career-ending knee injury. Due to lack of financial/medical care I was advised to quit playing and encouraged to go into coaching.

As the league's were all united, dismantled to form one South African Football body (SAFA) in the early 1990's prior to the countries' Independence, I had already gained much experience/respect by having had opportunity to play in all the League's with all Races'.

I was selected, as one of nine coaches, from amongst 200 of the top coach's in SA to undergo further advanced training as Coach Instructors'/ Educators' by the KNVB, in Zeist( Holland). On return from Holland duties were to train/educate coaches around South Africa.

I also worked as National teams' staff coach, assisting with National U23 Olympic, U-20s, U-17s and Women's teams.

I then ventured into coaching at professional level locally, Sundowns, Manning Rangers, before venturing abroad.


You have coached in Asia, in Vietnam. How did you go there? How was the experience?

Venturing abroad came about due to sheer frustration due to discrimination, lack of opportunities, locally. As I wanted to 'grow' as a coach I needed new challenges, unfortunatetly it was not forthcoming locally due to above-mentioned factors. Hence I started contacting agents, clubs abroad. The decision to coach in Vietnam was a surprise to family, friends as at the same time there were possible offers from Taiwan, India, Malta. As it had taken over six months for me to get a firm offer from abroad I had decided to go with 'whoever' came with the first formal offer, hence my sojourn to Vietnam in 2003.
As little or no information was readily available on Vietnam football, it was a 'culture'shock' on my arrival there!

But I really enjoyed my time there as I had to 'adapt' quickly to their culture (social/political/football), climate, food, language (I took lessons for first six months), etc. I had spells at two clubs, Gach Dong Tam Long An and FC Quang Nam and could have stayed on in Vietnam but had serious family issues that 'forced' me to return home to South Africa.

Coaching in Vietnam broadened my experience as a coach and made me 'wiser/better' due to working in a foreign football environment and with players, coaches from other countries. I was the first African and still the only South African coach to have worked in Asia.


I know you for many years and know you follow Indian football. What do you say about Indian football today?

As I'm a football 'fanatic' I follow the game globally, but Indian football has a 'soft' spot for me due to my Indian heritage. As mentioned earlier I was approached by people from a company in India to come work there. I've always tried to keep in contact with football people/clubs' in India, having even assisted/recommended, in sending some South African players to play there.
Whilst working in Vietnam I was even on the shortlist for National team coach - India.

Indian football should be a serious power in Asia, due to population, passion, talent, etc but as I don't have 'direct' insight into Indian football it's very difficult to comment on that- It has huge potential to achieve success, both in terms of performance and commercial benefits.

I must say I've 'learnt' a lot about Indian football through your former wonderful website and your 'passion' for Indian football over the years!

Indian/African football in my view has so many similarities and it's only us who can fulfill this potential, thereby making it 'world-class'.


Would you like to coach in India one day?

Coaching in India would be interesting, but would also depend on various factors like; vision of club/management, facilities, resources, fan-base, etc. That would be club level, then naturally if it's similar 'vision' at National level then sure, I'd like to contribute/make a positive difference in Indian football. Being of Indian heritage makes one feel 'duty' bound to make a positive contribution to the cause, but 'acceptance/mutual respect' is equally important!

AIFF-WIFA aim to train 5000 coaches in Maharashtra

The Western Indian Football Association, the Maharashtra state FA, in its centenary year has embarked on an ambitious program of producing 5000 AIFF certified coaches in the next three years, who will then train footballers at the grassroot level all over the state.

There are currently 30 districts affiliated to WIFA, with more than 2000 clubs, 1500 school teams and around 500 college teams playing the sport, however, the number of qualified AFC coaches in the state to that effect are only 55, which shows the huge disparity between the qualified coaches available and the football teams and players. Given the geographical spread of the state and huge population, added to the growing popularity of the sport, the need of the hour is for many more qualified coaches to work at the grass root level.

Hence a project plan to start another ladder for coaching was initiated by WIFA in consultation with the AIFF. A pilot project of the Coach Education Program for Grassroot level has been initiated in Maharashtra and on successful implementation it would then be taken to other states of India. Through this programme, AFC 'A' and 'B' licence coaches would become instructors and will be on the panel of the AIFF, in turn eligible to train and certify AIFF-certified coaches.

Gabriel Joseph, AIFF Director of Coaching, who will be conducting the programme, said that this Coach Education program for grassroot level is the brain child of the WIFA, CEO – Henry Menezes and it would be first of its kind conducted by AIFF. "The pilot project will first create a pool of instructors from the available AFC ‘A’ & ‘B’ license holders in the state. Thereon these successful instructors would be eligible to train coaches under them,” said Joseph.

"In the next five years, we hope to see Maharashtra as one of the top football playing states in the country, for which we need a strong base from which to pick and choose. This pilot project will help unearth quality coaches from among former players of repute, who would be then used to train youngsters at the grass root level," said WIFA CEO Henry Menezes.

"This project will also ensure that there will be uniformity in the coaching methods and standards used at the grass root level with periodic reviews and evaluations of the systems, being used," added Menezes.

Menezes felt that most of the coaches at the grassroot level were untrained, which was a matter of concern as it hindered the progress of footballers there as compared to the metros and bigger centres. The AIFF certified coaches coming out of this programme would ensure that the same coaching methods and systems would be available to football players in all districts of the state.

Currently 20 AFC 'A' and 'B' licence coaches have been selected for the pilot project, the names include Santosh Kashyap, Khalid Jamil, Godfrey Pereira, Yusuf Ansari, Arshad Hussein, Naushad Moosa, Augusto D'Silva and Aqueel Ansari. Four outstation coaches in William Koso (Nagaland), Ms. Maymol Rocky (Goa), Saji P.M, and Charles G.J. (both Kerala) are also attending the course. The 10-day coaching programme, which began on July 11, is being hosted by the Bombay Gymkhana at their premises, scheduled to conclude on July 20.

The daily programme involves practical classes in the morning and evening between 7.00 am and 9.30 am and 3.00 pm and 4.30 pm respectively interspersed with theory classes.

Star Impact has sponsored the kitting of the coaches and instructor, providing four sets of uniforms each, shoes and balls for the programme.