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The Uzbekistan U-20 team will be flying the flag for the country’s youth football when they participate in this month’s FIFA U-20 World Cup as Asian champions. Ahead of that, the underage football scene got a further boost with the recent launch of the Football for Schools (F4S) programme in the country.
Between April 27-29, a F4S project took place in the capital Tashkent, as Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian nation to take part. The programme, which has already been run in more than 50 countries, brings together football and education, inspiring children to learn life skills through fun football sessions.
During the first two days of the programme, educators received a training course from Alexandra Huete and Alberto Giacomini, two FIFA F4S officials. They were taught about the programme’s methodology and philosophy and how to integrate life skills into football sessions. A series of activities focusing on group dynamics were also presented through which educators came to better understand the intersection of football and social education.
Among the course participants were 40 Physical Education teachers as well as members of the Department of Youth Football at Uzbekistan’s Football Association (UFA). Also present were representatives from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Pre-school and School Education, who were invited by the UFA.
On the third and final day, which involved sessions on the pitch, the main objective was for the educators to put into practice what they had learned during the course by taking charge of the activities. About 100 children from various local schools took part in a double day, in which they were able to play football in a safe environment while performing carefully elaborated exercises.
These three days served as a launchpad for the programme’s implementation in Uzbekistan and to publicise the fact that Football for Schools is already up and running in the country.
