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“To achieve results on the pitch and enable Colombia to win trophies,” said Colombian Football Association (FCF) Development Director Ivan Novella, setting out the ambitious objectives of Futbol con Futuro (Football with a Future), a project that the FCF presented at a seminar held in Bogota on February 28, with all the stakeholders of Colombia’s footballing ecosystem in attendance.
“The process began nearly three years ago, when we summarised what we’d been working on in development,” added Novella. “We saw that we needed to organise ourselves and invest more and better to consolidate the work all our national teams were doing. The project is based on four key areas: talent acquisition, national youth teams, modernising our technology and equipment, and the social aspect.”
The project’s specific objectives include the following:
- To define a teaching and working methodology for coaches, video analysts and scouts based on the playing style of the national teams.
- To increase the number of permanent staff on the coaching teams in each age category and hold more training camps every year.
- To innovate and to modernise the tools available to the coaching staff, medical team, and players.
- To support the overall development of national team coaches and players.
The plan covers the 2022-25 period and has the support of FIFA, which will make a little over USD 2,300,000 available within the framework of the FIFA Forward Programme 1.0 and 2.0.
“As far as FIFA is concerned, through its regional office in Asuncion, it is important that we support the FCF with the planning, implementation and execution of Futbol con Futuro,” said Regional Office Development Coordinator Sergio Palacios. “The development of the women’s and men’ national teams requires a holistic approach in the short, medium and long term, and a clear road map from the youth academy through to the elite. It also involves them taking part in high-level competitions so they can pick up international experience. The project covers everything.”
More than 100 people attended the opening seminar, including the coaches of all Colombia’s national teams, among them men’s senior head coach Nestor Lorenzo and women’s senior head coach Nelson Abadia, who is currently preparing for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup – Australia & New Zealand.
