Apart from the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, OFC Member Associations Technical Directors and General Secretaries are convened in Noumea for a workshop to discuss matters related to football development in the region. 

There were also bilateral meetings between FIFA with each federation where priorities, challenges, projects for the next few months were discussed.

FIFA official, Gareth Jennings said he was pleased with the overall proceedings of the workshop.

“This is the 2B course where we focus really on coach education and elite player development,” he said.

“However embedded within that are very much leadership qualities of the technical director and if they are gonna look at those specific areas coach education and player development. That actually they understand the iteration of their leadership is very key in terms of being able to drive those agendas”.

After evaluation of the FIFA Technical Directors workshop held in the Solomon Islands last year, FIFA and OFC have decided to invite General Secretaries to be present at the workshop to enhance the relationship between these two in an MA.

“It’s been really positive, I’ve been very encouraged both from the technical directors that we’ve had in the room. Both their knowledge, experience and how to be able to contextualise it into the country that they working in and really their enthusiasm for the knowledge as well wanting to learn, been very open, honest, happy to speak, make mistakes and really grow themselves,” Jennings added.

“But then also the last workshop we’ve done with the general secretaries now coming in and joining the course. It’s been fantastic a very similar attitude, very engaged, wanting to learn so looking forward to the next couple of days now and even the course growing further it’s very much around the relationship building and how they see the balance of their two roles and how to supplement each other”.

Jennings insisted that both the technical director and general secretary play a vital role in developing the game in the region and they both need to complement each other in the member associations of FIFA.

“Really it’s that we see technical leaders really driving technical development in the member associations and a core part of that is the support relationship that they have with the general secretary and how we could integrate more and build on that relationship,” he explained.

“We thought it was a good way integrate them into the programme so it’s part of the course of learning both across the standard programme the 2A and 2B was actually could we integrate the general secretary as part of that so that they have greater knowledge of the scope of their role, what’s expected from FIFA, confederation and MA perspective and very much trying to get both of them working together and understanding how they will complement each other better”.

OFC Technical Director, Patrick Jacquement highlighted that the workshop is a fundamental step towards football development in the Oceania region as there is a lot of progress that has been made in the region.

Jacquement stressed that the future is looking bright for Oceania if both the technical directors and general secretaries work together for the advancement of football in the member associations.

ENDS/