A total of 35 coach educators from all seven New Zealand Football Federations took part in the courses and included two Grassroots Festivals involving more than 240 children at Auckland’s Henderson Valley Primary School and Christchurch’s St Albans Primary School.
FIFA Instructor Mauricio Marques, who has an extensive background in Futsal and is Head of Coach Education for football’s governing body in Brazil, the CBF, was delighted by the spontaneity shown by the children during the festival.
“The coach educators proposed to the children to play without shoes and the response was tremendous. All the boys and girls took their shoes off and had a more sensitive touch on the ball and the natural grass field. They had a great time and it all happened spontaneously,” he said.
New Zealand Football Development Manager Owain Prosser said while fun was the focus for the children, the participating coaches took the opportunity to plan 100 other festivals that will happen in each of the Host Cities of the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015.
The coach educators also put together a calendar with more than 100 festivals that will happen throughout the year in the various football communities of each of the seven federations.
Special festivals for girls will happen on 6 June when the Football Ferns open their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in Edmonton against the Netherlands.
“The FIFA Grassroots Football Festivals are a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand Football to continue to grow the game, by engaging new children in football, providing positive experiences and helping them fall in love with the game.
“It has also been very successful at developing New Zealand’s grassroots coaches, providing the knowledge and empowering them to develop their players, volunteers and clubs in their local community,” Prosser said.
New Zealand Football CEO Andy Martin was excited by what he saw as the course rolled out ahead of the biggest football event ever held in this country.
“The FIFA Grassroots Courses have provided coaches from our regional Federations, clubs and schools with the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the game at this important stage.
“This in turn will have a substantial impact on player development in New Zealand, engaging new players in fun activities focused on enjoyment and learning. The programme will help us to achieve our overall purpose – to lead, inspire and deliver football across New Zealand,” he said.
Peter O’Hara, LOC Leverage and Legacy Director, echoed Martin’s sentiments as he outlined the positive effect the courses would have on human resource and infrastructure as well as football’s outreach to diverse communities throughout New Zealand.
“These activities are a key part of the Leverage and Legacy Plan for the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015, which has a comprehensive set of objectives aimed at improving Football Participation and Capability.
“We’ve targeted improving not just human resources but infrastructure such as playing fields and tournament time training facilities. Other key objectives in the Plan are aimed at growing Tourism and Trade and Celebrating Multi-Culturalism and Diversity,” O’Hara said.
Auckland and Christchurch will each host nine matches during the tournament featuring teams such as New Zealand, Ukraine, United States, Germany, Honduras, Fiji, Uzbekistan and Brazil.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 kicks off on Saturday 30 May when New Zealand take on Ukraine at North Harbour Stadium in Albany at 1pm NZST.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup Final is scheduled for Saturday 20 June at the same venue with a 5pm NZST kick-off.
For more on the FIFA U-20 World Cup visit FIFA.com