Nshimiyimana & Gatera attend CAF inter-club coaches workshop in Cairo

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) recently ran its first ever workshop for coaching licenses to all coaches participating in CAF inter-club competitions.

 

Fifty (50) coaches from all over the continent met in Cairo, including APR’s head coach Eric Nshimiyimana and Police assistant coach Alphonse Gatera are attending a three-day workshop which is led by CAF’s director of Football Development, Abdel Moneim Hussein.

 

Assisting Hussein were FIFA and CAF coaching instructor, Benjamin Koufie and Dr Ahmed Maged CAF medical instructor and the new CAF Refereeing manager Eddy Maillet.

 

Abdel Moneim Hussein told Cafonline.com that with the introduction of player licenses in the club competition, the confederation is moving on to the next stage of accreditation and recognizing the coaches working with the clubs on the continent.

 

“Amongst the coaches here present are certified foreigners from places like, France, Portuguese,  Italy and Serbia and they have come here to receive the recognition through the CAF accreditation licenses that we at CAF are saying will be required for club coaches participating in CAF interclub competitions  to have before they will be allowed to enter the field of play” explained Hussein

 

With Orange CAF Champions league and Orange CAF Confederation Cup competitions about to start for the 2013 season, the coaches who attended the 9-11 January workshop were each presented with a CAF accreditation coaching license.

 

The workshop offered the coaches opportunity to interact and exchange ideas as well as charter the way forward in defining, harmonizing and building a coaching system to be recognized and accepted on the continent and beyond.

 

Apart from the African coaches there were about half a dozen european coaches  working with African clubs in attendance and seeking to identify with CAF ‘s growing coaching programmes.

 

Cafonline.com spoke with  some of the coaches one of whom was Lamine Ndiaye who guided DR Congo’s TP Mazembe a runner-up spot during 2010 FIFA World Club Cup.

 

Ndiaye  said “This is certainly a recommendable initiative by CAF and football on the continent can only get better when coaches pool their resources, ideas together as one body like we have done here. There is so much to learn and take from workshops like this and of course we get to appreciate and recognize what fellow coaches are doing in their countries and we encourage one another”

 

Wydad Casablanca ‘s Badou Ezaki who holds UEFA coaching qualification said this was a positive start to an important journey to bring African coaching system to a world standard.

 

“We have to start somewhere and l am very pleased with this workshop and the aims set out. There are good coaches on our continent and we need to work together to attain the level that improves our coaching in Africa.

 

“I was happy to meet my fellow colleagues who l will play against when competition starts and it is good to get to know and interact with them away from the matches”

 

According to workshop organizer Abdel Moneim Hussein the coaches who could not make it to Cairo for the workshop can still earn their accreditation licenses through arrangements with their national associations running similar courses.

 

CAF is going to employee the rule that asks only coaches with CAF accredited coaching licenses be allowed to enter the field of play with effect from the 2013 Inter-club season.