01 May 2024
Coaches from the Bhutan Football Federation have thanked Aspire Academy for providing the Performance Module of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Coaches’ Pro-Licence course.
The course, which is run in collaboration with the Qatar Football Association, saw 10 coaches from Bhutan spend nine days from 21-30 April at Aspire Academy and featured practical and theoretical sessions.
Aspire’s Football Performance & Science department provided all the lectures and practical sessions.
The performance module is one of four that coaches must complete to obtain their pro-licence, which is the highest qualification for coaching.
Soham Zangmo, the Technical Director for Ugyen Academy Football Club in Bhutan, expressed her appreciation for the course.
“It's been such an enriching experience for us to be here, and we are just wowed by the ambience and the environment here,” she said.
“We have learned from here a broader approach (to coaching football), and we are more oriented with the technology, technical, physical and psychological training methods.”
She is also convinced that the course will boost football development in Bhutan.
“In order for us to improve from the grassroots, I think it's important for us (as coaches) to reach peak performance.
“The higher you aim, the higher the achievements and performance of the players we coach.”
Vincent Subramaniam, who works with the AFC as a Lead Tutor, pointed out that as players in Bhutan develop, it is crucial that coaches at all levels follow suit so football can prosper in the country.
“Bhutan is a small country, and since 2015, we have been focusing a lot on the development of players, but more recently, we have also been concerned about upgrading coaches,” the Singaporean coach explained.
"When football really started in Bhutan back in around 2003, there were very few players actually playing.
“Today, we have about 26,000 children playing football, both boys and girls, so the next logical step is to increase the number of tutors to make sure that the children in Bhutan get a good football education.
Aspire Academy’s Football Performance Coordinator, Daniele Bonanno, outlined the main aims behind the performance module.
“We have been running this AFC module since 2021, and I think it helps spread the word about the quality of the course that we offer,” he explained.
“We’re addressing strength and conditioning, physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and neurophysiology, among other relevant topics, to bring the coaches to the highest level.”
“The coaches who participated in this course were very willing to learn, and I think they absorbed all the key information from our theoretical and practical sessions thanks to our expertise.”
“On any kind of course, you learn from the participant, so for us, it was very nice the way they interacted during the practical activities.”
“We found the coaches from Bhutan very humble and willing to learn the latest football performance methodologies.”
The course is the latest in several hosted at Aspire Academy as part of its memorandum of collaboration with the QFA, as the two organisations continue to boost the development of coaches throughout Asia, having understood the role and power of continuing education.