The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) began its second A licence coaching course on Tuesday at the UTT Campus, Point Lisas.
Participants from Bermuda, St Vincent/Grenadines, Jamaica, Anguilla, Barbados, St Kitts/Nevis and T&T, as well as England, will take part in the course, which includes practical and field sessions at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. Among the course presenters will be leading Brazilian A license instructor Geraldo Delamore. He is an experienced coach/educator of the Brazil Football Confederation (CBF) and holds a CBF pro licence, having worked with several Brazilian teams as a fitness coach, assistant and head coach.
Returning from the inaugural A licence course last July, to accompany TTFA technical director Anton Corneal as one of the other presenters, will be Tony McCallum.
McCallum has been involved in coaching, coach education and coach development for the past 30 years, working in various levels of the game from professional club academies to the semi-professional game in both the men’s and women’s game in England.
He holds the UEFA ‘A’ licence and FA advanced youth award. Additionally, he is a UEFA tutor and until recently, worked for the English FA for 15 years as a senior national/regional coach development manager.
Corneal believes this programme can help unite and strengthen the Concacaf region.
“This course is designed to improve our region. We cannot improve as a region alone. Concacaf has taken on a major programme to bring coach education together, it’s been going on for the past four years.
“T&T has been one of the countries that decided to embrace other countries and let them walk with us, and through this process.
“We are in the month that countries for the first time can apply to the convention. We can actually put in an application and we are going to put in an application at the A licence level and will be recognised anywhere in the region,” Corneal said at Tuesday’s opening.
He added that certification will now be recognised and graduates can seek employment in any territory in Concacaf.
“We are happy to be part of this change,” Corneal said.
The course is consistent with similar content, contact hours and learning outcomes of other A license courses in Concacaf and UEFA regions.
The main aim of this course is to educate coaches on the modern trends of the game, focusing on the practical and theoretical aspects of coaching, with an emphasis on leading the elite player and team at an advanced level.
Corneal however, will depart for Doha, Qatar after being invited by FIFA to attend the FIFA Developing the Developers workshop from Friday.
Corneal has been invited as a FIFA technical leadership expert among a dozen other FIFA experts including England’s John Peacock.
Attending the course’s opening was TTFA normalisation committee member Nicholas Gomez, senior manager sport and recreation at UTT Ian Pritchard, head of coach education for TTFA Rajesh Latchoo, senior correspondents/instructor Tony McCallum and head of TTFA High Performance programme Paul Decle.