By Shraishth Jain,
AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: As All India Football Federation (AIFF) is set to host a three-day International Virtual Coaching Conference from September 28-30, 2020, which will feature expert panellists from different domains speaking on a variety of topics with the attending coaches, participating coaches from India eagerly look forward to the “unique virtual conference.”

India U-16 National Team coach Bibiano Fernandes, a participant, stated that such an event is the "best way" to learn for coaches and will help them "remain updated" despite the prevailing pandemic situation.

"Organizing such a conference is the best way to learn and remain updated for coaches, especially in such difficult times. It is an ideal use of time in this pandemic and I thank the AIFF for putting this event together. It will help us coaches remain updated with the latest knowledge and trends in the sport,” Bibiano stated.

The line-up consists of numerous speakers of International repute and Bibiano stated that he is "look forward" to learn from all of them.

"The quality of the speakers is really impressive and I look forward to all the sessions and learn from them. It's a great mix of panellists.”

Blue Tigers assistant coach Venkatesh Shanmugam, who coached the Indian Arrows in the 2019-20 edition of the Hero I-League as well, said that he is "excited" to learn from and have conversations with the group of expert panellists.

"It is a great initiative and opportunity for the coaches to learn and get updated. I am excited and looking forward to the event, and having conversations with and learning from such high-quality speakers," he averred.

Venkatesh also termed the conference as a "complete package", given the wide variety of coaching aspects, such as mental conditioning, sports science, media management, etc. being covered.

"It's a complete package for coaches as all important parts are being touched upon. We will discuss different types of ideas, learn about different philosophies, viewpoints & experiences as we move forward together. Over the pandemic, we have had a number of webinars on specific topics but this one is entirely different and exhaustive in nature."

Clifford Miranda, who completed his AFC Pro Diploma Coaching Course earlier this year and also led FC Goa to the top of the Hero ISL standings, mentioned that the conference is a "step in the right direction."

"For me, anything that is helping Indian football grow is very important and organizing such a conference is a positive sign and a step in the right direction. The list of speakers is impressive and it should be an enriching experience for the participating coaches,” he maintained.

“Coaching is not just about being on the field -- a major portion of it is off it and so, it's great to see topics such as psychology, sponsorship & marketing, socializing, mental conditioning being covered, which were also part of my AFC Pro Diploma Course," he added.

Pradhyum Reddy, who has coached and worked with a number of clubs in the Hero I-League and Hero ISL in recent years, hailed the "diverse group" of panellists and added that there will be something for every participant to learn.

"It's great that the conference has got such a diverse group of speakers, who have expertise on various topics. There's something for everyone to learn and take away, whether you're a youth coach or working with a professional team. In the last 6-7 months, there have been numerous virtual interactions between coaches and educators, and this conference will surely take it up a notch with having all of us sharing ideas and learning," he stated.