Football: UEFA Assist League Development Programme Workshop |15 February 2022

SFF president Chetty delivering his speech

Club managers, administrators learn how to strengthen level of local football

As part of its mission to revitalise and bring more dynamics into Seychelles’ football, the sport’s local governing body is presently hosting a five-day capacity building programme for administrators and managers of all registered teams of the three national divisions.

A joint collaboration between the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) under its Assist programme, the workshop which is taking place at the Savoy Resort & Spa at Beau Vallon, was officially launched yesterday by the president of the SFF, Elvis Chetty, in the presence of secretary general George Bibi, along with the SFF executive committee members.

Through the Assist programme, the UEFA provides practical assistance to other confederations in an attempt to help the development and strengthening of football in the world.

Launched in 2017, the programme is aimed at sharing expertise and knowledge with UEFA’s five sister confederations and their member associations to support the development of football within their respective territories, while it also creates opportunities for talented young players to widen their experience of different playing styles and cultures, and to grow both on and off the field.

It also helps to strengthen ties between UEFA, its sister confederations and their member associations.

The UEFA Assist programme is based on four pillars, precisely:

a) capacity building – a series of education and knowledge-sharing programmes for UEFA’s sister confederations and their member associations,

b) development of youth football – opportunities for talented young players to gain experience, learn about different cultures and develop both on and off the pitch

c) infrastructure – small-scale infrastructure projects that provide immediate benefits to the member associations of UEFA’s sister confederations, and

d) UEFA member association support – helping and encouraging UEFA member associations to collaborate on football development projects with member associations of UEFA’s sister confederations.

The training is being facilitated by league development expert Joost De Wit, sports consultant Geoff Wilson, head of international relations football operations within the UEFA Eva Pasquier and also Marie Clerc who is responsible for press and public relations within the UEFA.

Launching the workshop, Mr Chetty noted that the SFF as a small federation has a lot to learn from the UEFA which he described as a “well-oiled machine”.

He encouraged all the participants to learn and gain the maximum possible from the training for future implementation at club level, thus taking local football to a higher stage.

Mr Chetty also added that the aim is to learn, attain knowledge and also to continue dreaming towards achieving greater success in the future.

Among the topics beingcovered during five-day training include governance, operations and club business, technical development, financial management, club brand and fan communications, matchday operations and venue management, as well as operational planning.

Roland Duval