The Technician: the football development story behind Georgia’s impressive performance at EURO 2024
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
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The latest edition of The Technician highlights how a long-term football development plan led to Georgia’s success at EURO 2024, and also spotlights some excellent grassroots projects across Europe.
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Georgia’s run to the knockout stage of EURO 2024 was one of the standout stories from this summer’s tournament in Germany. On their first ever appearance at a European Championship, Willy Sagnol’s side demonstrated both defensive discipline and attacking adventure on their run to the last 16, where they were defeated 4-1 by eventual winners Spain.
For many years the Georgian Football Federation [GFF] has been ambitious in its football development plans and put a focus on a number of key areas: growing the player pool in both men’s and women’s football, investing in elite youth development, grassroots and coach education, and hosting major tournaments. The investment of time, effort and resource into these important strategic areas is now bringing success.
"The story we’ve been writing with the Georgian national team has had the most powerful impact possible. In a way, the team and the players on the pitch, who played and performed so well, might have given the Georgian people a new sense of hope, an optimism of a better life."
Continued professional development at the heart of UEFA’s 14th Conference for national team coaches and technical directors
National team coaches and technical directors from UEFA national associations came together in Berlin in September to review the technical and tactical findings from EURO 2024 as well as discuss the implications for the future of player and coach development.
Members of UEFA’s technical observer team from the tournament, Rafa Benitez, Packie Bonner, David Moyes and Michael O’Neill, took to the stage to present a number of key findings from the official Technical Report. Presentations covered key areas including: goalkeeping, build-up play, final-third creation and pressing.
An on-stage discussion with head coaches who competed at the competition followed. France’s Didier Deschamps, Georgia’s Willy Sagnol, Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann and Portugal’s Roberto Martinez all provided a fascinating insight into their tournament experience and life as a national coach.
Football in Schools programme continues to help grow the game across Europe
Since its launch in 2020, UEFA’s Football in Schools programme has provided over three million children across Europe with the opportunity to access and enjoy the game. With the programme now renewed through to 2028 and a further €11 million of investment, many more young people will have the opportunity to participate in physical activity, further their education through football and fall in love with the game.
In Denmark young people are learning more about the social and psychological benefits of volunteering in football through the Danish Football Association’s ‘Mind, Body, Club’ project. Mind, Body, Club (MBC) is a unique concept which supports schools to deliver physical activity sessions as well as engaging more adolescents in volunteering at local clubs.