The Irish Football Association is to host the inaugural FIFA Youth National Team Coaches Exchange Workshop in Belfast from December 7-10.
The event will bring together youth national team coaches and programme managers from across Europe.
Representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Scotland and Wales will join the workshop, which will take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park.
The event will also include visits to Irish FA Talent ID events and the National Football Academy, offering participants an opportunity to explore the association’s innovative approach to talent development.
This workshop is the first in a new series of FIFA-led initiatives as part of the Talent Development Scheme (TDS), which aims to enhance youth football globally by fostering knowledge exchange, collaboration and the sharing of best practices among member associations.
Callum Irving, FIFA’s Lead for High Performance Training, Education and Knowledge Exchange, expressed his enthusiasm for the programme:
“We are very happy to launch our Youth National Team Coaches Workshop, where we want to create an environment for exchange between coaches within our member associations to share practices, challenges and opportunities, and to build a real community.”
He continued: “We are incredibly grateful to the Irish FA for hosting this first-of-its-kind workshop. The association has been a huge advocate for the Talent Development Scheme and a pleasure to work with over the past four years.
"The Irish FA's support, particularly through Aaron Hughes and Andy Waterworth, and commitment have been instrumental in making this workshop a reality.”
The Irish FA is proud to be the first host of this ground-breaking initiative and looks forward to welcoming participants to Belfast to engage in collaborative learning and discussions that will shape the future of youth football development globally.
