As Gareth Southgate’s England Under-21s side were kicking-off what was to be a victorious Toulon campaign, the candidates of The FA’s latest UEFA Pro Licence cohort were also out in France studying the stars and teams of the future.
Former England and Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, Birmingham City boss Gary Rowett, and England Women’s assistant Coach Marianne Spacey were amongst 25 coaches studying for their performance module whilst in the south of France.
The task dealt to them was to analyse six live matches, looking at different patterns of play, evaluate strengths and weaknesses of potential opposition, and to present their findings in a series of presentation tasks.
Pro Licence candidates have been using the latest technology at the Toulon Tournament
And The FA’s Head of Elite Delivery, Jamie Robinson, said it was an important learning experience for all involved.
"We want our courses to deliver world class education for our coaches, so they can are armed to be the best coaches they can possibly be," said Robinson.
"Toulon was a great opportunity for the candidates to be able to analyse international football as part of their wider learning on the course.
"The study visit was about looking at all the detail in how different players with different player attributes can fit in to various systems on a football pitch, so we wanted them to show us how they would deliver that working with their clubs. It’s this sort of detail that we really think is an imperative part of today’s game."
The modern day Pro Licence course allows the candidates to use the latest sports analysis technology - meaning they could put all the detail from the matches they had watched into their various post-match presentations, delivered on iPads.
Robinson was enthused about the advantage that technology is now offering prospective coaches, adding: "Back in their clubs, some of the candidates will have a team of analysts, however some will be in a position where they have to do the analysis all by themselves.
"So it is a good opportunity to interact with the technology and get used to looking at games utilising the latest, and best, digital tools available."
