Coaches from Brazil, United States and China are among the latest from around the world to choose St. George’s Park as the place to continue their education.
Twenty-eight candidates from 18 different countries are attending the 16-day FA International Licence course working with FA coach educators to improve their coaching knowledge and also to gain an insight into The FA's approach to developing the next generation of coaches.
Tony McCallum, FA Senior Regional Coach Development Manager and lead course tutor, believes The FA’s reputation is a strong draw for many international coaches looking to expand their learning opportunities.
The 18 countries
Algeria, Brazil, Canada, China, India, South Korea, South Africa, Switzerland, USA, Taiwan, Uganda, Egypt, Afghanistan, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam
“Coaches come here to understand what we do differently. They look to The FA and they look to England because they have seen how football has been developed here,” said McCallum.
“The way we are seen around the world is that we do have a good structure here and we do have a good process of developing coaches.
“The countries that many of our candidates have come from are emergent football nations, and many have limited coach education structure. But they recognise the strength of what we do just as much as the more established countries.”
The course also serves an important role in supporting coaches from nations where coach education is less well established by providing them with a unique insight into the workings of The FA’s core coaching pathway.
“People look to us give them some guidance and some direction with regards to coaching,” McCallum explained.
“Many of the countries that candidates come from don’t have structure in terms of their coach education, which means they don’t have a progression for their coaches.
“So we give candidates an insight into our coach education structure and what we have at The FA, which involves workshops from our Level 2 and Advanced Youth Awards through to some stuff from our UEFA B licence.”
Read more about extensive courses on offer at St. George's Park here...
