Nurturing tomorrow's stars

Coaches looking after young football players must have the appropriate training and qualifications. UEFA's viewpoint is that the people put in charge of nurturing tomorrow's stars should be educated to the highest possible standard.

Ideal setting
For this reason, European football's governing body brings together those involved in the education of football coaches for regular meetings. Vilamoura, in Portugal's Algarve, is an ideal setting for UEFA's 13th Course for Coach Educators, which takes place between Monday and Friday.

Crucial sector
Technical experts from around Europe will gather for discussions on a sector that UEFA feels is crucial for the well-being of the game. They include members of UEFA's Technical Development Committee and Jira Project Panel - two UEFA bodies directly concerned by the technical sector - association technical directors, club and national coaches, technical instructors, coach education heads and club academy directors.

Distinguished list
Over the week, these eminent people will be focussing their theoretical and practical discussions on the topic of "The Art of Football" in a country, which has produced a distinguished list of cultured footballers.

Portuguese quality
"Names like Luis Figo, Rui Costa and, of course, the great Eusebio symbolise the skill and attractiveness of Portuguese football, but also reflect the quality of the country's player development programme," says UEFA President Lennart Johansson.

Mentors and guides
"The many successes of the Portuguese youth teams speak volumes in this respect," he adds. "It is therefore fitting that this UEFA course, based in Portugal, will focus on the education of talents, in particular the training of tomorrow's youth coaches, who will act as mentors and guides to the potential stars of the future."

Practical and theory sessions
Following Monday's opening festivities, work begins in earnest on Tuesday. UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh will talk about the art of teaching talented youngsters, and two practical sessions follow, in which group play and fluid movement will be the focal points. Manchester United FC first-team coach Carlos Quieros and Poland's national Under-17 coach Dariusz Dziekanowski will also tell delegates about the role of the national youth coach.

Discussion groups
Course participants will attend the international Under-21 match between Portugal and Switzerland on Tuesday night, and the course resumes on Wednesday with practical sessions on creative technique and squad preparation, featuring leading fitness coach Roger Spry and Portugal national under-20 coach Rui Caçador respectively. Delegates will split into discussion groups to talk about the ideal content of youth coach education programmes, before examining the role of technology in coach education.

Club academies
Thursday's agenda includes a presentation by the Austrian FA's technical director, Willi Ruttensteiner, and coach education head Gerhard Hitzel on the association's technical development programme "Challenge 2008 - The Austrian Way", as well as a discussion-group session on UEFA support for youth coaching programmes. The role of the club academy coach will then be explained by Bryan Klug, academy director at English club Ipswich Town FC - whose academy is the subject of regular features in uefa.com's Training Ground section this season.