Two Bayer 04 coaches in Israel

It was a new project for the DFL (German Football League) and Bayer 04 were involved again. The first official Bundesliga Football School in Israel was recently launched in Shefayim, north of Tel Aviv. Almost 100 footballers aged between 13 and 18 participated in the five-day project organised by the DFL. The Bundesliga Football School aims to promote young talented, quality players worldwide – in association with local associations, leagues and professional clubs.

There was a full programme of workshops, tactical instruction and numerous training sessions for the participants over the five days. Under expert guidance they were able to show and extend their ability: The group of coaches included two each from Werder Bremen and the DFB plus Peter Quast and Slawomir Czarniecki from Bayer 04. At the end of the week the players received an assessment of their potential – based on the same criteria that are used in the youth sections at Bundesliga clubs.

GREAT PROGRESS IN EXTREME HEAT

Slawomir Czarniecki, long-standing youth coach and sports coordinator at Bayer 04, showed the same level of commitment as Peter Quast, who is almost seen as a globetrotter at Bayer 04 with his work in numerous projects with the Football Club Social Alliance (FCSA) training Young Coaches in crisis and development zones in Jordan, Uganda, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, India and Mexico . "The kids and teenagers were incredibly open and took in all the information and advice. We've seen them make a lot of progress over the five days," said Czarniecki who spent seven hours a day on the training ground alongside his five, fellow coaches – and that was in an extreme heat of 35 degrees that very much made itself felt on the artificial pitches. And Peter Quast declared: "the best lads could certainly make it in Germany,"

It is very likely not to be the only project of its type for Bayer 04. If the Bundesliga Football School is held in other countries worldwide in the future then the club will be one of the first points of contact. "We've had very good feedback on our work locally and I'm sure Bayer 04 will be very much in demand as a partner going forwards," said Czarniecki.

The Bundesliga Football School worked very closely in Israel with the IFA football association and the professional leagues IPFL. Local associations and leagues were able to make use of the Bundesliga Football School for developing models of promoting talent and applying the expertise of the Bundesliga to the current systems. Participation in the Bundesliga Football School is free of charge. "The Bundesliga Football School sees itself as an ambassador of the Bundesliga, its values and qualities," said Ansgar Schwenken, DFL director for football issues and fans.

The new partnership with the DFL has gone down really well with the hosts. "The Bundesliga Football School is a very important cooperative project. The most talented players in Israel had the opportunity to train with outstanding coaches from Germany," said Eli Cohen, Israel's economics minister, who was able witness the quality of the sessions on site.