The three-day Coaches Workshop concluded at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. The workshop which was conducted by AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan and Scott O’Donell, Technical Manager for Regional and Elite Academies, was attended by 12 Indian coaches plus a coach from Australia.

This was the second workshop of its kind organised by the All India Football Federation. The first workshop took place in the capital from January 13-15, 2012.

The workshop came in for praise from the participants. Former Indian national team Assistant Coach Stanley Rozario felt the workshop was a breath of fresh air. “It was nice to refresh myself. Such a workshop was long due and it was nice to be a part of it. Both Rob and Scott stressed on playing possessional football. It was great to interact with them,” he said.

Narayana Menon, India’s U23 Assistant Coach at the Pre-Olympic Qualifiers, added: “The focus is now shifting on the juniors. The intention is to create players who will be the flag-bearer for Indian football in the future. My only regret stays that it only lasted three days. It would have been excellent if we could spend more time at the workshop.”

The workshop had different theoretical and practical sessions. The theoretical sessions were held at Clarks Inn (Lajpat Nagar), while the practical sessions were conducted at the Ambedkar Stadium.

Arthur Pappas, an Australian coach who was also at the workshop said “it was nice to be in India.”

“It is very important for Indian football to develop Indian coaches. The workshop was very innovative and helpful indeed,” he explained.

“This concept was a new one. The workshop highlighted a style which Rob and Scott believe will take Indian football forward. I thank the All India Football Federation for arranging such a workshop,” Shillong Lajong’s Assistant Coach Thangboi Singto commented.

The list of the participants was as follows:
Thangboi Singto (Meghalaya), Satheevan Balan, Narayana Menon (both Kerala), Stanley Rozario (Karnataka), Subrata Bhattacharya, Satyabrata Bhowmick, Mridul Kanti Bannerjee, Ranjan Bhattacharya (all from West Bengal), Anadi Barua (Delhi), Santanu Basu, Bidhan Das (both from Assam) and Keshav Dutt (Haryana).