Spanish La Liga aids football development in Southern Africa

Spanish La Liga helps football in Southern Africa

JOHANNESBURG, April 20 (ANA) – Football development in Southern Africa will receive a boost with Spain’s La Liga helping provide top coaching to the region’s young talents.

LaLiga will be sharing this expertise and know-how with coaches in the Southern African region, as well as guests from Ethiopia, in the coming weeks with a series of virtual workshops for both men and women tacticians.

Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) secretary general Sue Destombes says: “We are delighted that LaLiga will share their expertise with our coaches across the region and recognise that this is a magnificent opportunity for those taking part to learn from the very best.”

“When we signed our partnership agreement with LaLiga in 2020, one of our major focusses was the development of our coaches. The quality of coaching does directly impact the calibre of players you will produce. The goal of all of us in the Southern African region is to develop world-class players in men’s and women’s football.”

Marcos Pelegrin, LaLiga South Africa Managing Director, says the workshops are a big step forward in the relationship between his organisation and Cosafa.

“It is always a pleasure for LaLiga to develop projects with our partner Cosafa, focused this time on developing football for local coaches. We are extremely proud to see how our collaboration can impact football in so many countries at the same time,” Pelegrin says.

“This is a milestone for both organisations, and we are looking forward to the feedback we will received from the coaches across the region.”

Florit is also looking forward to interacting with coaches in Southern Africa and Ethiopia.

“LaLiga is always thrilled to share its experience and knowledge with colleagues from other countries,” he says.

“This time, we are excited to be part of this platform that will provide 70 grassroots coaches and 14 professional coaches an opportunity to know more about how we train football in Spain. We hope they can implement some of these new ideas and concepts to their teams, both in amateur and professional clubs.”

The workshops are another step forward in a partnership between LaLiga and that was formalised last year and has already seen tangible results.

The Masterclass sessions aimed at grassroots coaches will be conducted by Juan Florit, Head of LaLiga Football Programs, and Saúl Vázquez Chas, LaLiga Senior Specialist in Football Projects Development.

These will focus on training methodology and will shine a light on best practises in how to structure sessions. These workshops will take place on April 21 and May 5.

There will also be sessions for professional coaches to be held on April 28 and May 12 that touch on the preparation of squads for international competitions and the development of grassroots squads. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman