Coach education summit in Budapest

Coach education is considered by UEFA a crucial factor in the overall development of European football. The premise is that well-trained coaches will help nurture good footballers and raise overall standards across the continent.

The European game's governing body has kept its finger firmly on the pulse as far as coach education is concerned. The latest UEFA Coach Education Workshop – organised in conjunction with the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) – takes place in Budapest in the coming week and brings together coach education directors, technical directors and coaches from UEFA's 54 member associations. Also in attendance will be technical experts and members of UEFA's Development and Technical Assistance Committee and Jira Panel, plus senior officials from the MLSZ

The workshop – held under the theme Raising the Bar – will look at the latest state of development in this vital area and the work being done by UEFA and its national associations to ensure that current and future members of the coaching profession are getting the best possible advice and education.

In particular, UEFA will highlight its coach education work priorities, as well as its work in specific areas, introduced at the request of the associations. The European body staged a series of goalkeeping courses earlier this year and a specialist futsal workshop in Spain. In addition, two successful Fitness for Football seminars  in Oslo and Istanbul have shed light on the need to ally football skills to the appropriate fitness training, both to help players perform better and avoid injuries.

Delegates in Budapest will also hear about UEFA's coach education exchange programme, which involves Pro licence students from the European associations coming to the House of European Football in Nyon for expert guidance on the various facets of the job.

The associations will play a full part in the Budapest programme and various countries will give presentations on learning philosophies, educating instructors and refresher courses. Neuroscientific aspects involved in improving learning and teaching, and how this applies to coach education, will form a key basis for the deliberations. A good coach needs to be able to communicate efficiently with those around him, especially his team, and this topic will be emphasised in a practical on-field training session.

Aside from practical work, group discussions and feedback sessions will help reinforce the exchange of ideas and viewpoints between the participants, all with the well-being of European football in mind, and a special guest is being lined up to talk about the lessons learned along the way. Finally, the workshop will be reminded of the dangers of match-fixing, an issue which UEFA considers an overriding priority on its list of activities.