April 7 – CONCACAF is holding its first ever Beach Soccer coaching course starting this week in Fort Lauderdale, Miami. The course is the next extension of the confederation’s development programme led by CONCACAF’s director of development Hugo Salcedo.
CONCACAF took the first steps with its own coaching programme in August 2013 with the launch of its D License coaching course in Mexico City. The D License is the first official licensing programme for coaches and is the foundation of the Confederation’s coaching educational programme.
Since then courses have been rolled out across the region, particularly in the Caribbean.
The three-day beach soccer course will be lead by FIFA instructor Angelo Schirinzi with additional presentations by CONCACAF beach soccer manager Betto Lima. Josep Ponset, head of competitions for Beach Soccer Worldwide, will also be in Fort Lauderdale.
CONCACAF has said on a number of occasions that it has ambitions in Beach Soccer and feels that its member nations have the talent to compete internationally in a form of the game that has been dominated by Brazil.
The region has never hosted a Beach Soccer World Cup (they take place every two years) though Mexico did make the final in 2007, while El Savador came fourth in 2011 and lost to eventual runners-up Spain last year.
The coaching programme is an important part of CONCACAF’s efforts to promote beach soccer. “By placing an emphasis on coaching education, the primary objective is to create a model that will lift this version of the sport from the grassroots level all the way to international play,” said a CONCACAF press statement.
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