Dubai was the venue for the FIFA regional training course for technical directors of West Asian member associations which took place from Saturday 2 April to Wednesday 6 April.

Representatives from Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen and the host country all attended to listen to guidance imparted from Jürg Nepfer, FIFA’s Head of Education and Technical Development, Jean Marie Conz FIFA’s senior Technical Development Officer, Roberto Perna FIFA’s Head of Education and Desi Curry, a FIFA Consultant from Northern Ireland.

The sessions began when Ali Hamad Al Badwawi, General Manager of the UAE Football Association, conveyed greetings and good wishes from His Excellency Yousuf Yaqoob Al Serkal, the President of UAE FA football association for a pleasant stay in Dubai.

“The UAEFA has revamped all resources to ensure the success of the event,” he said. “It isone of the most important training courses as it gives technical directors the most recent findings of the game and the actual FIFA development programmes.

The course focuses on four main pillars which are: the role and responsibilities of a Technical Director, the practical observation of matches, training and coaching education sessions from a global point of view, project management according to a cycle including analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring as well as bi-lateral meetings with each Technical Director to plan their immediate future.

Commenting on the past few days in Dubai, Nepfer said: “The training course targets the development of the game in the specific region to keep pace with the international standards. It advances of the capabilities of the technical directors and their staff, improving the organisational structure of the technical departments in the member associations and setting the right priorities of projects and programmes in their countries.”

Ten further courses of this kind will be held during the year across all the confederations. They are part of a global process to increase capacity and to empower the role of the Technical Directors in Member Associations and with that to improve the development of football worldwide.