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Sports Reporter
TIKI-TAKA football is back on our doorstep and Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa will lead a band of national team coaches for a football clinic to be held by coaches from Barcelona in Zambia next month.
Pasuwa, who recently led the home-based Warriors to their fourth consecutive Africa Nations Championship finals, will be joined by his assistant Nation Dube for the clinic which will run from 9-12 November, at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka.
Mighty Warriors’ coach Shadreck Mlauzi will also be part of the delegates as he looks to hone his skills ahead of the preparations for next year’s Olympic Games.
Mlauzi made history when he guided the women’s side to the Olympic Games recently at the expense of West Africa giants Cameroon.
The coaching clinic will see two coaches from the club’s academy, FCBEscola, coming to the continent to share skills and knowledge during the exchange training camp.
The event was facilitated by Castle Lager through their partnership with the Spanish giants FC Barcelona.
Neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Tanzania have also been invited to send three coaches to the clinic.
Last year, Barcelona dispatched two coaches to Zimbabwe from their academy to work with the domestic league coaches and their captains over a week.
Premier Soccer League chief executive Kenny Ndebele yesterday hailed their sponsors for coming up with the concept.
“Thank you to Castle Larger and FC Barcelona for their continued support of the further development of football in Africa.
“We are confident the training will go a long way towards improving the coaches’ skills,” said Ndebele.
Representative of the sponsors Alistair Hewitt, who is the General Manager Regional Brands at SABMiller, said they are looking to grow their relationship with Barcelona.
“Castle Lager has a long standing commitment to the development of football in Africa. As part of our partnership with FC Barcelona, the additional benefit is the community involvement which is being done through the clinic.
“In 2014, the first edition of the coaching clinics was held in various countries, and this year it is designed to focus on more time spent with face to face interaction in one location.
“This will also allow for the training to be longer and more integrated than it was last year,” said Hewitt.
The training sessions will feature theory and practical segments.
The coaches will learn crucial coaching skills and will have a unique opportunity to be taken through an in-depth session that explains FC Barcelona’s coaching philosophy through an interactive workshop session.
The theory will be supported by practical sessions which will involve the coaches being able to observe and apply the theory in a real training session with players from the Zambian national teams.
Director of FCBEscola, Oscar Grau, said Africa has the potential to produce top-notch players and believes the partnership with Barcelona will go a long way.
“FC Barcelona is a firm believer in knowledge exchange geared towards the development of the game of football. We are proud to have partnered with Castle Lager to run this training clinic in Zambia.
“Africa has some great talent, and we are honoured to be able to play a role in grooming the talent, through enhancing the skills of the coaches from the different countries,” said Grau.
Online Reporter