FCSA – Bayer 04 train Young Coaches in Vietnam

40 men and women took part in the three-part training programme to offer children in their communities safe and age-appropriate football activities and be able to convey important social abilities and values through learning games.

Vietnam developed strongly after the end of the war and the reunification of North and South in 1975. Although the country is one of the fastest growing economies in South-East Asia, it still faces a lot of challenges. Ethnic minorities in the rural areas and the poorer sections of the populations in the cities often lack basic amenities and poor hygiene and alcohol and drug misuse have a negative effect above all on children. In addition, children in these areas are often affected by physical, emotional or sexual abuse as well as discrimination, so that meaningful activities and positive role models are not always available.

Young Coach training addresses these problems. The second of three training modules was successfully completed last week in cooperation with SOS Children's Villages Vietnam and Football for All Vietnam (FFAV). Some 40 young Vietnamese men and women are being trained to provide children and teenagers with safe and age-appropriate sport and game opportunities and also convey social values through football.

The focus of the second module was age-specific and inclusive football coaching: Football should not only be accessible for all age groups but also for all people with different levels of disability. The Young Coaches demonstrated their expertise with a football festival involving 30 deaf children and with a training event with around 140 girls and boys aged from 6 to 12. Qinthara Nabigha, a qualified Young Coach from Indonesia, trained by the FCSA in 2014, was also there. She was working as a co-instructor and gave valuable support to the instructors from Bayer 04, Werder Bremen and FC Basel.

The Young Coach training programme in Vietnam is organised by the FCSA and Scort in close cooperation with SOS Children's Village Vietnam and Football for All Vietnam and supported by the Fondation Botnar and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The third and final training module will be held in the summer of 2019.