GIFT 2014: Speakers dwell on ways to boost football

The second day of Goa International Football Table (GIFT) 2014 featured a great line-up of speakers, deliberating on subjects very critical to the growth and development of the game in the state and consequently India. Interactive sessions were interesting, with the focus being on choosing and opting for the right talent and nurturing it with the right ingredients.

With a view of producing world football class players in India, particularly in Goa, Oscar Bruzon, coach of Sporting Clube de Goa, highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of Goan football and focused on honing the talent of the players . Speaking about the importance of honing talent, he said, “Depending on the content of your work, you could develop a new strategy for producing world football players. In other words, ‘the right ingredients need to be put in for a good salad’ which is important in building budding professional players”.

Bruzon added, “The development of football currently revolves a lot on the Under-17 World Cup tournament to be held in India in 2017 and in order to enhance the motivation of players, competitive games should be held on a regular basis more frequently”.

Robin Petersen, CEO of South African Football Association (SAFA) in his key note address, said that in order to produce world class football players, identification of individuals needs to be done with the potential to excel. He also said that this talent needs to be developed by providing the appropriate environment that will help them achieve these goals.

Petersen also spoke on the development of football in South Africa, a nation which never made it to the FIFA rankings because it was banned from international football for over 20 years. But in 1992 they came back with a bang, landing the 20^th rank. Unfortunately they lost that spot to slide down the rankings, finally reaching the 56^th rank. “Outstandingly, talented players like to be told why they need to do something and always question their coaches. They are difficult and push the buttons of their coaches. These players learn best from their peers. They adapt best to their environment which is why a proper development structure needs to be made available to make sure that talent does not leak”, said Petersen.

With an overriding belief that ‘greatness isn’t born, it’s grown’, Mike Steptoe, Director of the African Soccer Development School developed an equation that to achieve talent it called for deep practice, motivation and masterly coaching. He highlighted that the essential requirement was football philosophy and a route guide to achieve pre-set goals in Indian football. Steptoe said, “Swiftness of feet, speed, vision, awareness and character are the main characteristics in the process of talent scouting.”

At the panel discussion on talent scouting of players, Mike Steptoe, Director of the African Soccer Development School said, “My vision from day one has been to identify the culture, strength of the players, initial touch and their footwork which has further been taken to a next level with constant practice.”

Ranjan Chowdhury, Academy Director – Pune FC stated, “Besides identifying talent in the players, selecting and promoting them, it was necessary to identify the problems and provide solutions for obtaining world football players.”

“It is necessary to focus not only on the on-field development but off-field progress too. Also, providing a platform for young football enthusiasts is considered to be a major hand in developing talent,” noted Arthur Papas, coach of Dempo.

Focusing on community development, Mr. Grant Cornwell, CEO, Tottenham Hotspurs Foundation said, “It is important to provide best training and educative programs for all communities which should be done in collaboration with the government as well as church and local communities with football development being the main focus. Fans make the game of football and increase the motivation of the people, therefore taking it to the next level.”

In a session about the participation and inclusion of community development in the game, Christopher Fortuin, Lecturer University of Johannesburg and SFDA Technical Committee member said, “Football has the means to change lives and communities. Football has the capability to bring communities together and bind them together, change the mindsets of people.”

“When I became Secretary of MFA, I started the Mizoram Premier League so that the existing talent gets a platform. Community plays a very big role in terms of support to the sport. The clubs in Mizoram are community based. Inter-village tournaments are also organized with the help of this community support.” said Lalnghinlova Hmar, Secretary Mizoram Football Association.

When asked why the passion is so strong for football in Goa, Peter Vaz, President, Sporting Clube de Goa said, “There is not much profit for football in India, it is surviving solely because of the passion of the people for the game. Community development is new in India; clubs are now doing their social responsibility by creating opportunities to showcase the talent of participants, talent scouting also helps in meeting these social needs.”

Renedy Singh, President, Football Players Association of India stated, “Players need to spend time and engage with the community and the people. This will automatically create interest and the people will turn up for the matches.”

Grant Cornwell, CEO, Tottenham Hotspurs Foundation (THF) said, “The outcome of a sport depends upon the impact it has on society. That is why when my organization has to give back 5% of our profits to the community, we are able to create employment opportunities and over 13,000 sporting opportunities for disabled persons. Our effort is to make them the best in their respective fields.” He also said, “Organizations in India have to give back 2% of their profits to the society, there is huge potential for them to come out and support sport.”