“It’s the first of its kind and it is the next level in terms of coaching.
“For me, I have never played at a professional level and I have never coached professional teams, but working with these professional candidates I would say has taken my knowledge to a different leve,” he says of the fellow candidates.
“With professional players like Andy Boyens who has played in the MLS, the way he is sharing information with us is very good and he is proving very supportive, along with all the other coaches.”
Kumar is a perfect example of the OFC Coach Education Pathway, of which the OFC/NZF A Licence is the latest addition.
A graduate of the OFC C Licence and the first-ever intake of the OFC B Licence Kumar believes the content and delivery continues to improve with every step.
“After doing the C Licence and B Licence I thought ‘this is it, this is what football is’, but now I have seen the difference from B Licence to A Licence and we are
only at the beginning,” Kumar says.
“I’m seeing the difference between the two and the knowledge I am getting here now I think will be very useful to Fiji.”
Twenty-five participants are taking part in this first OFC/NZF A Licence and Kumar is one of only three who have followed the OFC Coach Education Pathway from the beginning.
He says the OFC Technical Department should be commended for what it is offering coaches from around the Pacific.
“The content of the course itself is great, we are very grateful to OFC for introducing it and giving us this opportunity to be part of it and enhance our coach education,” he says.
“This is the correct pathway set out by Oceania for coaches, and for those of us who did the initial OFC B Licence it has given us time to absorb the content and the knowledge of that course.
“The B Licence was in 2012 so we have had a period of three years to grow and help our country. It has been a very helpful pathway.”
Looking at the role of improved coach education in Fiji specifically, Kumar says he has witnessed first-hand the difference a football education can have.
“I can honestly say we were not working at this level before in Fiji,” he explains.
“We have had coaches over the years who have shown these talents, but we weren’t able to understand properly. Now I understand how to prepare a team better.”
Kumar says the addition of former Socceroo and Sydney FC coach Frank Farina to Fiji’s technical team is also making a difference on the ground.
“With Frank Farina on board now it has helped Fiji a lot in terms of coaching.”
By taking part in this course it’s helped Kumar’s own understanding of Farina’s goals and philosophy for moving Fiji football forward.
And the pair are already looking towards the future with Kumar keen to play a key role with the Fiji U-23 squad which qualified for the Rio Olympics earlier this year.
“I have proposed to the Fiji FA that I be involved with the U-23 side at the Olympics,” he says.
“More than half of the team are boys I coached in the U-20 team a few years ago and the rest are boys U-20 boys from 2012 when I was coach as well, so I am very familiar with them and it would be a great opportunity for me to work with them.
“We have drawn up a plan which will see us play a number of friendly matches in the build-up to the tournament. The first one is in January in Spain and we will play a number of good clubs over there which should give us some match experience playing against professional teams.”
While he’s already mapping out how to use the knowledge and skills he’s picking up over the course of 12 days in Auckland, Kumar knows this is just the beginning.
“I’m relishing this environment. The first thing we were told is that there is never anything wrong with football, so we are free to express ourselves and come forward with ideas because we know nothing can be wrong,” Kumar says.
“But it’s the same as the B Licence, the course here in Auckland is just the first step. The work will have to continue back in Fiji too.”