The seminar is the first of its kind to be held in Oceania and features 23 participants from OFC member associations who will work for four days at the Vanuatu Football Federation Academy.
In this mission FIFA, OFC and Asia Pacific Football Academy staff have been working together to bring the OFC member associations a plan and a strategy for their youth player development.
‘’FIFA and OFC want to help its member associations to build a vision and strategy for the development of young players in the Oceania game,’’ OFC Coaching Education Manager Didier Chambaron says.
The player development process in the OFC was highlighted with the partnership between the confederation and the Asia Pacific Football Academy in early 2013 and reinforced at the beginning of 2014 with APFA Director of Football Giovanni Fernandes fully involved within the OFC Technical Department.
“Giovani’s expertise in youth player development is huge and having him on board in a greater capacity in 2014 will reinvigorate the programme even further,” OFC Technical Director Patrick Jacquemet says.
Fernandes brings an extensive knowledge and expertise of youth football player’s development in his role with the AFPA.
“Our job is to allow them to improve upon the football environment, teach them and show them the protocols that have been developed in elite academies across the world and hopefully together we can adapt that and implement it in a way that works for them.
“Hopefully in the long run we will have a bigger impact in terms of football development,’’ Fernandes says.
Participants will be exposed to topics like a long term development pathway, youth football player optimal environment and the development of players in age group football.
The seminar will also present football other forms of the game with OFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Development Officer Paul Toohey presenting on the benefit of futsal for young players.
OFC Women’s & Grassroots Development Officer Nicola Demaine will highlight grassroots development for both boys and girls.
An OFC and FIFA delegation led by FIFA Instructor Hansruedi Hasler, a former Swiss Football Association Technical Director, will present and work closely with the football technical experts of the OFC member associations.
The philosophy of FIFA is to develop a real pathway for the young players in each category of age by helping the member associations in the process of delivering quality courses to bring the players to another level in each category of age.