Three weeks spent working as part of the Technical Study Group  at the OFC Women’s Nations Cup in Fiji last month gave Member Association staff a valuable opportunity to develop their football analysis skills. 

The group, led by OFC Head of Education and High Performance Owain Prosser, included Vani Buadromo, Yogendra Dutt, Sunil Kumar, Annabel Rao, Mira Sahib and Kritesh Prasad.  

Participants were allocated teams to observe throughout the tournament and given opportunities to develop their skills across different areas of match analysis and filming.  

Rao, who is currently the head coach of the Nasinu FC women’s team and formerly served as an assistant with the Fiji national women’s team, said it was a key learning experience for her as she works towards one day becoming a head coach at national level.  

“I loved about being part of the TSG and getting to learn new things from the rest of the group, and the knowledge shared was just so amazing,” Rao said.  

“I hesitated at first but my mum encouraged me and I wanted to learn more and I was hungry to understand more about the game and how the different teams played.  

“Watching a football match is not just about watching the game and trying to pick out the key moments, but it’s also about trying to understand why players do the movements they do.  

“It’s very important to have this kind of opportunity because it will allow us to grow as coaches.” 

Dutt, who is the Fiji Football Association Coach Educator, said for him it was also an opportunity to see in detail how the female game is improving in Oceania.  

“I enjoyed the games a lot in terms of how much improvement has come to women’s football. All teams showed enormous improvement,” Dutt said.   

“It was a wonderful experience because it enhanced my knowledge and it gives an individual a lot of self-development. The knowledge gained is beneficial to the MA too.” 

Technical Study Groups aim to increase competition between OFC MAs, close the gap between OFC MAs and the rest of the world and improve player and coach development programmes.