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Study Group Scheme grassroots focus

The revamped UEFA Grassroots Charter was a focal point of the UEFA Study Group Scheme seminar in Germany, featuring an exchange of grassroots expertise and experiences.

Participants at the UEFA Study Group Scheme seminar in Germany
Participants at the UEFA Study Group Scheme seminar in Germany ©DFB

A key mission for UEFA is to continually improve the overall quality of European football, in particular through the exchange of expertise between UEFA's 54 member associations. This transmission of know-how in the technical sector takes place through the highly successful UEFA Study Group Scheme (SGS).

The European governing body has joined forces with associations so that information is exchanged, ideas and good practice examples are swapped, and recommendations and advice are passed for progress and development.

The Study Group Scheme, an initiative of UEFA President Michel Platini, aims to facilitate the greater exchange of technical know-how and experience. It is also looking to raise pan-European standards through, for example, visits by association specialists – with the help of UEFA funding – to gather technical knowledge in other associations, particularly at their clubs.

Europe's large associations are making a crucial contribution to passing on their vast knowledge in key areas such as coach education, youth, women's and grassroots football. One of the latest to stage a Study Group Scheme event was the German Football Association (DFB), proud world champions, who held a grassroots seminar at their headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

This was the fifth UEFA Study Group Scheme seminar of what is the initiative's seventh season, and the third on grassroots football. The FAs of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Iceland, Moldova, Spain and Turkey were the visitors. Willi Hink, the DFB grassroots director, led the seminar, while UEFA's team was led by grassroots ambassador Per Ravn Omdal (Norway), grassroots technical instructors Piet Hubers (Netherlands) and Robin Russell (England), and head of football education services Frank Ludolph.

The seminar highlighted new developments surrounding the UEFA Grassroots Charter, which has been signed by all 54 member associations and encourages them to continually develop and improve their grassroots work. The charter, which was introduced in 2004, is being restructured to include a series of new criteria. The new guidelines mainly focus on growth, retention, coach education and fair play, and they encourage associations to collect accurate data in order to better understand their needs in grassroots football.

Germany were asked to show examples of best practices specifically linked to the new charter criteria, and the five visiting associations gave presentations highlighting their work in various categories of the charter. "After eight years of development work with the focus on adopting best practice and taking action to reach this level, the new concept of the UEFA Grassroots Charter now emphasises the results of football development in the associations," said Hink. "However, in addition to clear performance indicators for players, coaches, and the involvement of girls and women, the new charter still supports development work in the fields of fair play and values of football."

The revamped charter was welcomed by the visiting associations. "The new charter will enable us to have qualified coaches in the clubs," said Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) grassroots manager Boris Stankov. "It makes us aware that we have to take care of all aspects of football," added Football Association of Iceland (KSÍ) grassroots manager Gudlaugur Gunnarsson. "The charter allows our association to develop more social projects to emphasise Fair Play," added Óscar Callejo, from the Spanish national coaching school.

The seminar also served as an ideal means for everyone involved to emphasise the crucial nature of grassroots football. UEFA and its associations are constantly aware as part of their missions that without healthy foundations, football cannot flourish at the higher levels – and football must remain a game open to all, regardless of age, gender, ability and a host of other criteria.

"The conference in Germany again proved that the grassroots is the basic foundation of all our activities in order to create football for all, and at the same time develop skills and talented players," said Omdal. "This makes football one of the most important players in society in all countries."

The DFB organised a visit to a local club to show best practices, and explained the efforts being made to develop a grassroots plan to involve all the various stakeholders and bringing together each region in the country as part of a national partnership. The association demonstrated the comprehensive work taking place in Germany to increase the number of registered men and women players, as well as to keep them in the game. The education of grassroots coaches and volunteers – the vital backroom elements in grassroots football – and how to recruit them, was also on the programme, together with the DFB's development activities in areas such as fair play and promoting schools' football.

"Seven national associations with major differences in terms of size, population and in the role of grassroots football, discussed their strategies and measures to reach the next level," Hink reflected. "The new charter concept was a wonderful guide through the seminar. Our guests, and my colleagues and I, felt inspired to go home and work even harder for the development of football's grassroots."

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