Over 60 youth coaches based in Nigeria have converged on the Federal Capital, Abuja to be part of the annual NPFL/LaLiga Youth Coaching Clinic which kicked off on Monday at the Media Centre of the National Stadium, Abuja.
It is a sequel to the progress recorded in the first two editions of the clinic, which have seen over 100 coaches learn new coaching skill sets. Contents to be shared will include advanced technical aspects of the Spanish methodology on how to develop young talents, which will be a continuation of level 1(foundational) and 2 (intermediate) training from the highly successful first and second editions.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC) Mallam Shehu Dikko, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer of the LMC, Salihu Abubakar, pointed out the importance of the third edition while also stressing that gaining more knowledge should be paramount on the minds of the participants.
"We are happy that this clinic has come to this stage, the advanced level. Of course, this is the third one; we had the foundational in 2017 and intermediate module in 2018. LaLiga has placed so much importance to this training and that is why they have brought two of their best tutors for this project. With the sharing of their methodology with us, it will help in synchronizing our philosophy that will be the envy of everyone elsewhere," he stated.
Abubakar also expressed his delight following the progress made as results are already showing with the progression of players who passed through the initial NPFL U15 Future Promises Tournament from their youth clubs to their various professional clubs.
For Managing Director, LaLiga Nigeria, Javier Del Rio, the reward of the partnership between NPFL and Spanish League is evident as there is notable progress made since the partnership was signed between both leagues. Del Rio also urged participants to be serious and take full advantage of the advanced course.
"I encourage you to make the best of the course to your advantage. The trainers we have here have a lot of experience, so ask as many questions as you wish and also pay full attention to all they have to teach. The potential of football in terms of the huge talents in Nigeria is bigger than probably any other place in the world; the talent here is unlimited. So you are the ones to properly train them to be future stars," Del Rio pointed out.
Jose Angel Garcia and Juanjo Guerra will be in charge of the clinic which is expected to run for the next five days and will precede the annual NPFL U15 Future Promises Tournament.
The NPFL-LaLiga partnership was signed in 2016 and has since recorded a number of exchange projects between the two leagues, including a tour of Spain by an NPFL All-Star team, and the opening of the LaLiga Nigeria office in Abuja.