Former Trinidad and Tobago international Brent Rahim continues to play a pivotal role in the development of Beach Soccer in his position as FIFA coordinator for Beach Soccer and Futsal, operating out of the FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
Rahim who has been at FIFA for just under four years now oversees the development programs globally and has major responsibilities in ensuring beach soccer receives the necessary resources as FIFA pushes the game through its alliance with Beach Soccer Worldwide, the organisation which stages the major world events for the world governing body. He was featured on the organisations official website recently.
“Last year, good news abounded in our development programs for beach soccer. There have been some fantastic years of collaboration with Beach Soccer Worldwide, in which we have seen beach soccer developing and moving forward,” said Rahim, who is back in T&T for a few days at the moment.
“At FIFA, we have always believed that beach soccer has a huge potential in terms of development. Not only because of its easy approach, but also because of the possibilities it provides.
“Beach Soccer brings an excellent opportunity for the grassroots programs of the different football associations, at the same time it helps children improve their technique and stability on a very special surface, which will help them grow as a players, both on the grass and on the sand.
We have already tested certain techniques and it makes little sense to have one course taking place, but with no later repercussions, and no further implications. Federations need to build a development plan; they need to think about the moment and the manner in which to tackle the development actions, its objectives, the people involved, the number of individuals targeted, the resources to be invested, etc.
“This is where each of the Member Associations play an important role, as only they, and the professionals within their structure, know the realities, needs, weaknesses and strengths of their communities,” he added.
Rahim will be heavily involved in the activities leading up to the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Bahamas and he intends to see the game develop in the CONCACAF region including Trinidad and Tobago.
“FIFA will always be happy to help beach soccer blossom, and to support any interesting initiative, but the first step is, as always, to build a solid plan to rely on,” he said.