AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY
'Sports is our Business'
  • Home
  • NEWS
  • Radio
  • TV

A helping hand for Madagascan football

8/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
“It was a ten-hour flight to Europe, a continent none of our players had been to until then,” said Theodore Rakotoarimino, a member of the executive committee of the Madagascan Football Federation (FMF), telling FIFA.com about Madagascar’s trip to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 back in July.

Continuing to discuss the island nation’s first ever appearance in a FIFA World Cup competition, he added: “When the players got there, they were fascinated by the size of the cities, the development of the country and the differences with our island. Our diet in Madagascar is based on rice, a little bit of fish and meat. You can imagine how surprised they were when they were served a bowl of pasta.

“With all these new things to absorb and take in, how were the team supposed to focus on their first match?” 

It is with the aim of bridging the experience gap and giving their men’s and women’s teams the exposure and technique they need to compete in international tournaments that the FMF initiated a development policy a few years ago.

Now in 2015, the FMF has embarked on a four-year programme, with the two latest training courses taking place in July in the towns of Tulear and Fianarantsoa, situated respectively in the south-west and the centre of the island. The aim of such initiatives is to give the regions in question a better understanding of the importance of providing grassroots training for youngsters, while also encouraging more children to take up the game.

The two courses and the FIFA Grassroots Festivals gave some 52 local coaches – six of them women – the opportunity to undergo training supervised by Jean-Francois Lebon, the FMF’s national director of football, and FIFA grassroots instructor Yvon Avry. In total, some 1,800 children took part in workshops, training sessions and tournaments across both sites: 896 in Tulear and 850 in Fianarantsoa, including around 200 girls at each.

“Judging by the national director of football’s presentation, the desire and commitment of the teachers and coaches and the enthusiasm with which the youngsters took part in the practical sessions and the festival, Madagascan grassroots football has got a lot going for it,” said Avry, who, following his stay on the island, met with the heads of the five regional leagues to discuss development-related needs.

The fact that the opening practical session attracted some 118 children instead of the expected 40 reflects the huge interest in football on the island. Aware of this passion, the organisers staged local workshops in both towns, with the theory components focusing on the training of teachers and coaches, refereeing, and on grassroots, youth and women’s football.

“A lot of effort has been put in, with an effective training plan and tangible results, though there is a lack of more specific projects and more resources to develop these types of football,” explained Avry. “The meeting with the five leagues and the training courses held in Tulear and Fianarantsoa have given me a better insight into the significant extent to which Madagascar is lagging behind in youth and women’s football.”

Explaining the reasons behind this, the FIFA instructor pointed to the lack of infrastructure for youngsters, a shortage of qualified teachers, the absence of youth competitions and football in schools, scarce funding and the difficulties faced by young women in finding clubs.

Every problem has a solution, however, and given the level of satisfaction derived by the teachers and children who took part in the two events, the obstacles mentioned by Avry can be overcome with the help of the development programmes put in place by the FMF and supported by FIFA. 

By: FIFA.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Menu

    All
    2014 FIFA World Cup
    Athletics
    Basketball
    Boxing
    Commonwealth Games
    Cricket
    Golf
    Hockey
    Marathons
    News
    Olympics
    Rugby
    Soccer
    Spotlight
    Tennis
    Track And Field
    Volleyball
    Women Soccer
    Wrestling


    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Tweets by ASMONTHLY

Tweet to @ASMONTHLY

Contact Us

    Contact Us

Submit

Donate & Support Our Efforts at African Sports Media Network