SAI-AIFF join hands to launch online coaching program

Realising that its impossible to conduct a centralised coaching course under current circumstances with the country having being locked down in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, All India Football Federation (AIFF) in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has arranged for an online coach education program, that gets underway from April 20.

The 13-day refresher course, which concludes on May 2, will be open to all SAI and AIFF licensed coaches with around 400-500 coaches being expected to join online.

The 13-day course will see the participants attend sessions on an array of topics, ranging from prevention of injury, to video analysis, to principles of coaching age-group teams, and much more.

"It's an excellent initiative by AIFF and SAI to assemble coaches from across India to get a learning experience. It will refresh their thought process of football coaching," Savio Medeira, AIFF Head of Coach Education, and a former India player said.

The opening session of the programme will be conducted by Medeira himself, with successive sessions being held by several AIFF instructors, including current senior Indian men's national team head coach Igor Stimac, AIFF Technical Director Isac Doru, among others.

The course comes on the back of AIFF having earlier conducted online coaching seminars for AIFF coach education instructors, and also online tutorial classes for the referees.

Medeira, also a former head coach of the Indian national team, explained that the coaches would gain a lot of insights on how to manage players at the highest level when they get to learn from someone like Stimac.

"It's not every day that you get to learn from someone like Stimac. I'm sure all the participants are eagerly waiting to hear his takes on how to handle different situations in the dugout, and the dressing room," he said.