Training futsal coaches on Spain agenda

Specific coach education training at UEFA is taking another step forward this week with a pilot UEFA Futsal Coach Education seminar in Spain.

The objective of the four-day seminar at the Royal Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) Las Rozas complex is to fine-tune futsal coach education criteria at UEFA B licence level by demonstrating key elements of a futsal coaching course which could be implemented at national level. The course content is based on guidelines stipulated in the UEFA Coaching Convention. A number of key figures in the futsal technical world have been invited to take part.

UEFA began to organise European futsal tournaments in the mid-1990s, and futsal has advanced rapidly in terms of quality, while coaching and coach education have also developed apace. The key futsal competitions at European level are the UEFA European Futsal Championship for national teams and the UEFA Futsal Cup for club sides.

The seminar will be attended by UEFA vice-president Ángel María Villar Llona, who is also chairman of the UEFA Referees Committee and RFEF president, and three national team coaches will give presentations. José Venancio López, in charge of reigning European champions Spain, will talk about futsal teaching methods, tactical skills and leadership; Italy's Roberto Menichelli will highlight individual skills in game situations; and Portugal's Jorge Braz will outline the organisation and managing of a futsal training session. Practical sessions will look at other training aspects of this popular branch of the game.

Fitness elements will be examined by Spain's national team physical trainer Antonio Bores, such as warm-ups/cool downs and stretching exercises, as well as endurance, speed, strength and coordination. A specialist element of futsal – goalkeeping – will come under the spotlight courtesy of César Arcones, Spain's national goalkeeping coach.

Pedro Galán, FIFA referee instructor, will explain the FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game, and Javier Lozano, the former Spain coach who took his country to European and world futsal honours in an outstanding 15-year spell at the helm, is one of the distinguished guests who will bring his experience to bear at the event.

Specialist coach education is one of the current key aspects of the UEFA technical sector's activities, and the UEFA Jira Panel is drawing up specific education guidelines for fitness and goalkeeping in addition to futsal. Recognising that specialist areas require specialist knowledge, UEFA is staging pilot seminars in all these areas in the coming period.