Coaching ● Nov 29, 2019
FIFA Women’s Coaching Workshop 2019
In a bid to enhance women’s football development nationally, FAS applied to conduct the FIFA Women’s Coaching Workshop on a yearly basis since 2015. This is part of FIFA’s programme specifically designed for coaches of women footballers. The theme for this year’s FIFA Women’s Coaching Workshop in Singapore was developing women’s football at grassroots level.
The introduction of such coaching workshops was also aimed at increasing participation in women’s football, improving school competitions and improving playing standards from a young age. This would then result in a solid foundation for the development of female youth players leading up to their involvement in the national teams.
This year, a total of 20 participants attended the workshop conducted by FIFA Women’s Football Development Officer for Asia, Ms Belinda Wilson, which was held from 23 to 27 November 2019. They included primary school teachers in charge of girls’ football as well as grassroots coaches of our Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Girl Cubs centres and private academies.
The coaching workshop had several practical sessions that incorporated actual mini games for the participants to have hands-on experience of game management, which Maslinda Sabtu, one of the participants and also a teacher at CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel Primary School, appreciated. She said, “The FIFA Women’s Coaching Workshop covers coaching principles extensively, which are essential for any team, player or coach development. The workshop has also provided me with a deeper insight on women’s football in Singapore. I would sincerely thank FAS for giving me the golden opportunity to be part of the workshop.”
With more qualified coaches on board, this will also allow FAS to conduct its own workshops in the future to reach out to more primary schools and those involved in girls’ grassroots programmes to play their part in women’s football development.
Another participant, Nadhrah Aqilah, who is currently a Singapore Women’s National ‘A’ player aspiring to be a coach, described her experience taking part in the workshop as one that was useful and satisfying. She said, “For me, I think the biggest takeaway (of the workshop) is that being in the shoes of a coach gives me great satisfaction. Watching the girls play and enjoy themselves, I’ve learnt the true value of each individual in a team sport and that has had a huge impact on me both as a person and as their coach. (This workshop is) definitely something I would recommend to those who are interested in giving back to the community, and we can do so by influencing the upcoming young female stars who will bring local women’s football to greater heights in our country.”
