DILI (25 April 2018) – Beach soccer development in Asia continues to grow, thanks to courses that are aimed at continuously raising the standards of the game.
One such course is the AFC Beach Soccer Coaching Instructors’ Workshop that took place at Avillion Admiral Cove Hotel, Port Dickson two weeks ago, led by Switzerland’s Angelo Schirinzi, along with Brazil head coach Gilberto Costa.
The-AFC.com spoke to two of the best beach soccer coaches and instructors in the world, where they shared their thoughts and expectations of the future.
Schirinzi first became prominent in the world of beach soccer when he took on the reins as a player-coach, who participated and trained the Swiss team.
His stint with Switzerland earned him various achievements in Europe, as well as runners-up finishes in the 2015 and 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
“I believe beach soccer has enormous potential in Asia,” declared the 45-year-old.
“Beach soccer is a fast and attractive young game, and many federations could achieve great success and play a World Cup, even with a small financial investment.
“In Switzerland, we are working hard to be and to remain at the top level, and we’re not doing it with a big budget, but with a small team that has put a lot of heart into the sport to improve the game,” Schirinzi revealed.
The sentiment was also shared by Costa, who further added that the participants must continue their pursuit of knowledge to improve, saying: “For these instructors, attending courses with more experienced coaches is of paramount importance.
“We may have contributed content updates and new forms of training, but learning cannot stop, it is infinite. Seminars like these need to be done continuously and with ever more demands and content for their participants.
“It is important that Asian instructors have the opportunity to have more experience on beach soccer – in theory and practice – working in their countries. More hours of work and experience mean security in carrying out their work.”
The Brazilian boss, who took the national team to their fifth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup last year and was named the Best Coach of 2017 by Beach Soccer Worldwide, shared that there is still room to improve, and countries like Japan and Iran could lead the way for others to emulate.
“There needs to be investment in specific beach soccer young divisions, such as the development of longer national championships for clubs and continental championships between countries.
“Other than that, investments in specific professionals for beach soccer and focus on the formation of idols that inspire young people (as Moreira Ozu in Japan and Peyman Hosseini of Iran) are important points.” – www.the-afc.com
