AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The International Virtual Coaching Conference organized by the All India Football Federation from September 28-30, 2020 around 600 plus coaches from across the country take part in the three-day session, which featured a number of world-class speakers discussing a variety of topics. 

The event also marked the start of the new revalidation system, with participating coaches receiving 'points' for attending the conference, that will be required to revalidate their license in the future.

Sanjoy Sen, who had won the Hero I-League with Mohun Bagan as a coach backed the new revalidation initiative -- saying that coaches will be “eager” to attend the courses that will be conducted as part of the programme.

"This is a good initiative taken by the federation. Earlier, the system was different. Now the coaches will be more eager to take part in future courses and attending them will not only help them update their knowledge but also be helpful in pursuing higher licenses," he quipped.

Sen, who also led Mohun Bagan to victory at the Federation Cup in 2016, added: "This revalidation process will work well in tandem with the plans and programmes made for developing coaches in India. It should also open more opportunities for Indian coaches going forward."

Khalid Jamil, also a former India International and someone who had won the Hero I-League with Aizawl FC, stated that it’s important for coaches to remain “in touch” with the latest knowledge and said that sharing ideas with each other will help coaches improve.

"Revalidation will definitely benefit the coaches. It is important for us to remain in touch always with the modern trends. This initiative has been started for our benefit. It's a good thing. Not only will it increase the skills of the coaches and employability, but it will also help us learn new concepts. Through the sharing of ideas and knowledge, which will help everyone improve."

The North East United FC assistant coach also expressed his views on the points system, saying: "The system has been devised and introduced for a reason. It is the right time to implement it. It is something that is prevalent in other nations as well and with time, I am sure it will benefit the coaches and they will get accustomed to the whole process."

Meanwhile, Hyderabad FC senior assistant coach and Technical Director (youth) Thangboi Singto maintained the new revalidation process will help “propel” the sport forward in India.

"In India, the way football is progressing. It is improving in all angles such as players, infrastructure, facilities and professionalism. To propel all these in a better way, we need better coaches and the only way to get better coaches is to keep them on their toes."

"As a coach, you have to be up to date and this revalidation will help coaches to be forward-thinking and visionaries and be up to date with new training methodologies that will help us get at par with the best countries in Asia. Our aspirations are to be in the top 10 in the continent and I am sure this will help us get better and be on the right track. Credit to Mr. Savio Medeira and everyone involved for getting this started," he averred.

Former India International Steven Dias, currently an Assistant coach of Hero ISL club Odisha FC felt the revalidation initiative will make a “big difference” in the current scenario.

"Through revalidation coaches will attend refreshers and conferences to learn new techniques. They will know what is going on in modern football and what the latest happenings are. Knowledge is most important in coaching and without coaches updating themselves, Indian football will not get updated. This will be a big difference for coaches and as a result, Indian football as a whole. It is only with the timely updation of coaches that Indian football can move forward together," he said.

"Coaches with advanced knowledge will have more job prospects. The number of teams and academies across India is increasing rapidly. It means more demand for qualified and updated coaches. With revalidation, more coaches will enhance their knowledge. More roles will open up.”