AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The four-day FIFA Coach Capacity Building Workshop, organised by the All India Football Federation and conducted by FIFA experts Mr. Simon Toselli and Ms. Stéphanie Spielmann, concluded at the National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in Kolkata on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

This workshop is a vital component of the FIFA Women’s League Development, which falls under the broader FIFA Women’s Development Programme.

The Workshop was attended by 25 coaches (19 women and six men) from the Indian women's national teams, IWL, and IWL 2 clubs, and various other stakeholders. They were from 12 states. Mr. Toselli is a FIFA Women’s Football Technical expert and Ms. Spielmann is a former player, a UEFA A-License coach and a FIFA and OFC instructor.

The All India Football Federation President, Shri Kalyan Chaubey, who addressed the participants on Day Three of the Workshop, said: “Women’s football is one area, where we have huge potential to progress at the international level. But to achieve this target, we need to have a true leadership training programme.”

The AIFF President pointed out that women’s football in India is popular in certain pockets of the country. He said: “Our target should be to identify more talents in women’s football in these areas. All of you, who are participating in this Workshop and working diligently to enhance their knowledge, may identify the talents and share it with the talent scouts of the AIFF on a regular basis. It will help to create a bigger pool of players.

“We should be able to identify at least 200 talented women footballers in the age group of 17 to 23 years and train them through the leadership training programme. These players have to be given proper advanced training and provided with more match time, if we aim for the 2030 Asian Games or the 2029 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.”

Shri Chaubey thanked the FIFA for sending its two experts, Mr. Simon Toselli and Ms. Stéphanie Spielmann, for conducting the Workshop. “Participation of women’s footballers in India has increased by 138 per cent. I am confident that FIFA would come forward to give us more support in the development of women’s football in India,” he said.

The event featured theoretical sessions in the mornings, practical field sessions in the afternoons, and dedicated one-on-one breakout sessions for personalised interaction with the experts.

Mr. Toselli and Ms. Spielmann discussed their experience and expertise of women's football at FIFA, leadership skills of a coach, styles of play, game models, positional coaching, football fitness, and periodisation, and general characteristics of female football players.

Mr. Toselli emphasised the importance of communication, saying, "If you are good at communication and explanation, your team will do great." He said any workshop of this nature will enhance knowledge and contribute to building a successful career.

Ms. Spielmann said that it is always important for the coaches to demonstrate while explaining any point to players during training. “It saves you time, it doesn’t waste I,” she said. Stephanie encouraged the coaches to reflect deeply, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and make necessary adjustments to overcome challenges.