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August signals a happy return to India For the World Coaches Program of the Royal Netherlands Football Association, with a pilot Coaching Course in Kerala, in tandem with the State Government, followed by an intense week at the Cooperage for a renewed partnership with the Western India Football Association for young footballers in Mumbai.
The kick-off was today on August 22, when Dutch legend Johan Neeskens conducted a demonstration training program on Dutch Football with a Mumbai Youth selection, after a festive gathering in the presence of the Dutch Ambassador and the Consul General for Mumbai. Neeskens, who featured in two consecutive FIFA World Cup finals (1974, 1978) was also the first Dutch player ever to score in a FIFA World Cup final. The former Player of Ajax Amsterdam and FC Barcelona brings with him two experienced colleagues to Mumbai for the five-day course at the Cooperage.
KNVB is a well-known and respected partner of Indian Football, having a cooperation agreement with AIFF on various aspects of development of football and also with the Indian States under the MoU which was signed in 2014 between SAI and the Dutch Ministry of Welfare and Sports.
“We are very happy to be back in Maharashtra. In December 2019 I was here myself as instructor of World Coaches and in those days we were hoping to intensify the coaching education. In the meantime, the world was closed due to the pandemic. Now it is time that the youth in India, boys and girls, come back to the field and that they are trained by well educated coaches, who do not only look at performance on the field, but also look at the well-being of children and guidance off the field.”
“A partnership with a football State like Maharashtra, Mumbai fits perfectly in our International Strategy, where we want to be seen as an Innovative Association, looking for impact and working for the Future of Football. Our new Partnership with Acosa Sports Infrastructure Services will give an extra impulse through the combination of more and better fields to play on and good coaching for children,” said Neeskens.
“Football is all about collaboration and communication, about fair play, respect for diversity and dealing with frustrations. We can inform children on Healthy Lifestyle and teach social skills to our children in a fun way through football, which will benefit them in all aspects of their life,” says Johan van Geijn of KNVB, working with India since 2006 when KNVB did a first course in Mumbai for the local coaches of Magic Bus.
The World Coaches Program is active around the world since 2010. Since then, more than 16,000 coaches joined the initiative Worldwide from more than 60 countries, with almost 30% of them being female coaches, a percentage that should grow for equal opportunities.
In Netherlands, there is a football training facility within1.5 kms radius of every home. One of KNVB’s goals is to bring similar circumstances to every country in which they are present.
