BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (18 Feb 2016) – THE first-ever FIFA Pre-season Coaching Course kicked off at the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) House along Jalan Pusat Persidangan in Berakas yesterday.
Conducted by Singaporean FIFA instructor PN Nair Sivaji, a total of 25 coaches from the DST Super League, DST Premier League and the national youth team were selected to attend the course as part of their ongoing coaching development.
Sivaji, who was a former FAS (Football Association of Singapore) technical director, has extensive experience coaching the Singapore national football team as well as Singapore League (S-League) club Home United.
In order for the coaches to participate in the five-day course, FIFA requires the participants to have at least an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ‘C’ Coaching Course Certificate and adequate experience in coaching their respective clubs and teams.
The opening ceremony was officiated by NFABD executive committee member Hj Md Noor Hj Hamid, who in his opening speech, highlighted that the course is a platform for coaches to understand the importance of pre-season training sessions and friendly matches.
“A poor pre-season could see a team make a slow start in their respective leagues,” Hj Md Noor said in his opening ceremony speech.
“Preparing players during pre-season is important for them to be able to cope physically and mentally with the demands of the season ahead.
“A poor start of the season could potentially lead to more injuries because the players haven’t conditioned their bodies properly.
“For some players, during their off season, they switch off and stray from keeping up with their general cardio fitness such as running – this is where pre-season training comes in.
“After this course, we expect these coaches to be able to organise friendlies with other clubs within the sultanate or overseas in order for their team to achieve match fitness,” he added.
Hj Md Noor also hopes the course will act as an opportunity for coaches to improve their coaching techniques with Sivaji while he is in the country.
“Aside from the importance of pre-season preparation, by having coach Sivaji here, these participants can take this opportunity to learn more from him to improve their techniques ahead of the league season – which will start in March,” Hj Md Noor said.
SOURCE: The Brunei Times
