Football launches pathway to future Jankowski: No short cuts
FOOTBALL is life and passion and to develop football in Fiji further with all of you, we need a strong football foundation on that the next generation of talented football players in Fiji can relay on.
To build such a strong fundament we need to think in processes with a long-term sustainable strategy. There are no short cuts in football development, it is about being open minded to learn new things, analyse the best practices in the football world, building good processes adapted to our specific football environment here in Fiji, having good people in the project with passion for the game and put in the work and of course to have patience.
Football development will never end, and to develop a football player to the top it is proven, that we have to start before so called Golden Age, which means it will take 8-10 years to see the real outcome. Our job in the technical department is to develop the top level but also the base at the same time.
We will try to create win-win situations as we strongly believe with the focus on player development we will all win in Fiji Football.
To develop better players we need the best possible coaches and the best possible training concept. The definition of training is, that it is a planned process to get better... so by definition we need to have a planned starting point for football development which is the aim of that curriculum.
This curriculum is not based on somebody’s opinion, it is rather based on objective facts, science and best practices adapted to the natural strength of Fijian talent and it is backed up by the “FIFA Country Report”: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=xudQIjOQEgA
If we analyse top level football that becomes faster and faster and where the transition phases become more and more decisive, it becomes clear that we have to play a fast directional game on the ground with few touches, with technically strong players that can think and sprint fast.
As Fiji has a young dynamic and talented society, we want to develop players that can play a fast dynamic football our people love to see – ‘Totolo Futupolo’.
Sport in general and football in specific is a very important social development tool, so we want not just to develop better players but also want to help through the power of football to develop better people with strong values.
With this football development curriculum, we want to create opportunities for the next generation, that a lot of young girls and boys fall in love with the beautiful game and develop out of this future elite players for our women’s and men’s national teams we can be proud of.
THE Fiji Football Association’s first ever football development curriculum titled ‘Totolo Futupolo’ was launched last Saturday at the Fiji FA Headquarters in Vatuwaqa, Suva.
The curriculum was spearheaded by Fiji FA technical director Timo Jankowski and his technical department.
Fiji FA chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf says the football development curriculum is the pathway to the future development of football in the country.
“We want to create a football philosophy that will ensure our survival in the modern game,” said Yusuf.
“The curriculum is the basic tool for our coaches, the development officers and the school teachers to use as a guiding principal to develop football.”
Digicel national team captain Roy Krishna commended Fiji FA and its technical and education team for taking the step forward to thoroughly develop and start the execution of its Football Development Curriculum.
“This has been a long time coming and I know a development curriculum such as this would go a long way in setting up a strong football culture, establishing a distinctive style of play for the nation that starts from the grassroots all the way to the national team and enforcing mentality,” said Krishna.
“I’m very pleased that the future of football is in good hands. This curriculum will lay the foundation for young Fijians to train into prime athletes who can play any game format with energy, strength and tact.”
Fiji FA executive board member Nazia Ali Krishna says the curriculum is a blueprint for football development.
“This curriculum is a blueprint for football development as it not only explains the philosophical approach for football development for the broader football community but it also has comprehensive explanations and practical models that coaches can run with from the grassroots level to the national level. It promotes high performance with a broad range of skills and competencies and should be used as a practical guide for coaches and players of every age, gender or level as well as their parents.
“It is versatile and can be adopted at schools, clubs, academies and everywhere football is played so no one is left behind.
“The philosophy of introducing mixed football at the early stages for boys and girls ensures that children grow up learning that everyone is equal on and off the field and this is a step in the right direction of ensuring gender equality is promoted and achieved across the board.
“I hope that this curriculum will make football even more accessible to every child in Fiji so that we build a greater pathway for the future and that more Fijians both men and women, can play professional football, win continental and world competitions and bring pride to our nation.”