The Montserrat Football Association kicked off a five-day coaching course for grassroots football on Monday evening at its facilities in Blakes.
This is the second time the grassroots coaching programme is being offered on island. Instructor Andrea Rodebaugh-Huitron said she was pleased to be back on island for the course and welcomed the larger number of participants.
About 28 men and women are participating in the course designed to prepare them to coordinate football programmes across the island. The focus will be on girls football as FIFA, the international governing body has now mandated that every member country is to develop female football.
The instructor noted that each association can now access up to one million US dollars to develop progamming including female and youth leagues.
According to FIFA, there are more than 250 million people across the world who play the sport and of that only 30 million are women and girls. Only 10% of football referees are women.
Throughout the week, the trainees will learn about coaching teams of girls ages 6 – 12. The trainer noted the emphasis at this age is about having fun. “Let the game be the teacher,” she said.
The training will culminate in a Girls Football Festival on Saturday from 10AM at the Blakes’ Football Field.
