The second AFC Beach Soccer Coaching Certificate Course Level 1 was held for six days between Tuesday 3 and Sunday 8 October at the Shibukawa beach in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture.

Yokohama hosted the first course in May this year. In the second workshop, TALIB HILAL AL THANAWI, the coach of Oman National Beach Soccer Team, and Japanese international player MOREIRA Ozu were invited as instructors and a total of 10 participants consisting of beach soccer players, coaches and referees attended the course.

This event is a part of specialised courses offered by the AFC, and its aim is to develop coaches who can give fundamental instructions on beach soccer. Starting this year, the AFC began to set a minimum qualification requirement for coaches participating in the tournaments hosted by the AFC.

During the lecture, the instructors gave presentations on a variety of topics from the current status of the AFC license system to its future plans as well as the basics rules on beach soccer. Furthermore, additional lectures were given on nutrition, injury prevention and coaching methods including game techniques and tactics.

Also during the group work session, the participants analysed some of the games from the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and openly discussed and exchanged their own opinions regarding the matches that were played.

For the practical training session, they covered a wide variety of topics: warm-ups, passing and shooting techniques, tactics in defence and offence, and goalkeeping. By actually observing the demonstrations given by the instructors, the participants learned the salient points of each topic as well as the methods of coaching them.

And at the end, the participants took both practical coaching skills and written tests to conclude the course.

The participants now will go back to their clubs to go through the assignments that they were given by the AFC. Depending on the results of the practical skills and written examinations, they will be provided with the license.

Instructors' Comments

TALIB HILAL AL THANAWI, Chief Instructor
I was impressed with the diligence of the Japanese people. I sincerely appreciated that they worked as hard as they could in every session they participated in. I have been around the world as an instructor of the AFC and the FIFA. When you have the AFC coaching license, you have to think globally as well. The participants have a chance to go to different countries as coaches or instructors in the future. I would like them to be coaches who can adjust to different languages and cultures as well. Additionally, I expect them to take full advantage of what they learned this time for the development of beach soccer in Japan as they go back to their respective teams. As coaches, I want them to set high goals, as I believe they are fully capable of achieving those high standards as well. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Japan Football Association and Tamano Football Association for hosting this wonderful event for us.

MOREIRA Ozu, Assistant Instructor
We have completed our second AFC Beach Soccer Coaching Course. Most of the participants have played beach soccer, which enabled us to run a course at a much higher and more practical level. Coach Talib's instructions were easy to understand and I think that they learned a lot from attending the course. I’m hoping that these workshops hosted by the AFC and the JFA will foster the development of qualified beach soccer coaches in Japan and also improve the quality of the sport in Japan as well. It was an intense six-day course, but I ended up having a great experience and also believe that it raised the coaching skills for all the participants as well.

Participant's Comment

Mr. YASUHARA Kenichi
This AFC Beach Soccer Coaching Course was held in Okayama Prefecture, and I attended the course to improve our local teams and promote the game as well. We began the class with a lecture on the regulations of beach soccer and observed the different coaching methods and approaches in instructing the players. In the practical training, we learned how to take a step-by-step approach in improving the skills of a player as well as how to address the issues in the team and working on those to ultimately improve and achieve the goal of the team. All the topics that we covered in the workshop were practical, and it made me realise that every effort you put in counts. I would like to thank the AFC and the JFA staff, who hosted this wonderful course, as well as chief instructor Talib, assistant instructor Moreira Ozu and everyone who supported this event. The past six days that I spent with other coaches and players across the nation were intense, yet enjoyable as well. We had a fruitful time together. Furthermore, I felt like having new rivals who were of same age attending the course. Capitalising on this experience, I would like to do my best to in order to contribute to the development of beach soccer.