Presidential Update on the Golden Goal

We have agreed on two additional Regional Centres of

Excellence so we now have a total of three which will all act

as our national football hubs. Our Regional Centres of Excellence are in

• Naa’moura, in the capital city of Alamy

• Hassan in the coastal city of Anapolis

• Koury in the west of the country

We have chosen the description ‘Regional Centres of Excellence’ deliberately. We want the different parts of the country to be involved in delivering success in our national game. In time we will have more centres. We want each to embody ‘Excellence’ and we want our footballing nation to beconstantly pursuing excellence.

What does mean for each Centre? It means that the coaching and support staff are always challenging themselves to do things better. To deliver experiences for the young people in our care so they can fulfil their potential and enjoy their footballing journey. We want players, coaching staff, support staff and parents to be proud of who they are and what they do.

Inevitably finance shapes, but does not limit, our ambition. We now have three centres to recruit and develop the best talents. In time we will have more. We will be using our own significantinvestment and future sponsorship deals to add to the $250,000 Talent Development Scheme money guaranteed by FIFA.

We have appointed a Head of Elite Talent. The role is wider than simply Head of Youth. In my eyes someone who has the brief for all of our high performers is more than an administrator for the Player Pathway. Mr Pascal Duval will operate across all age groups giving insights into how to best support the top talents. Within the Technical Directorate he will also ensure we deliver on the Golden Goal National Player Pathway.

What are we looking for? With the guidance of our Head of Elite we agreed our definition of Elite Talent: 10 x Traits. For us in Gratifacio it will be those boys (and girls) who ‘know how to win’ and are

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1. young athletes who show enthusiasm and resolve

2. show an outstanding capacity for developing skills

3. curious and great learners

4. technically competent for their age

5. confident with the ball

6. athletic with lean body composition

7. physically and mentally robust

8. good co-ordination and balance: bilateral and able to move off either foot

9. socially competent

10. independent and able to take and act on performance feedback

For the younger players it may be that they only show our first trait! We need some starters about what we are looking for that’s why we have our 10 x Traits - but we must allow children to grow and adapt. We scout for talent without being too limiting and adult!

We need to create opportunities to see young talent emerging. We need 000’s of eyes watching games all across the country. The new Regional Centres of Excellence will be asked to support coaches, club administrators, referees, teacher, parents, and anyone who is involved in children’s sport to help us. We need to share what we are looking for. The new Head of Elite Talent will work with the RCE to share our 10 x Traits. The new website and IT infrastructure will also help.

Where will we see this talent? Local Leagues, the Schools Football Programme and Rural Football areall essential to building a broad base of participation. This is a priority as without this we have no means of finding talent. We wish to grow participation so we can enthuse the nation for the game in every town and village - but also create a fast lane for talent. Our Leagues Director, Mr Dinar Mansouri has done excellent work in formalising our Adult Leagues. He also has a very willing and large group of leagues secretaries who work with him to ensure that clubs and players are registered with FFG. This is not easy; however, we are rolling out the national FFG Club electronic registrationsystem. Extending broadband throughout Gratifacio has meant that we will change our old card index system with files held in offices into a national database with registration at the click of abutton.

The new Regional Centres of Excellence will hold trials and invite clubs and schools in each district to take part. As part of the experience, we will hold education sessions for the adults attending to explain to them some, or all, of our 10 x Traits.

The Golden Goal National Player Pathway is embedded in our strategic planning for the future. We will make it a success. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which relate to the Pathway in the Strategic Plan are -

KPI 3.1 Broadening the participation base.

KPI 3.2 Talent ID and player profiling

KPI 3.3 Trials and Scouting events

KPI 3.4 Recruitment linked to RCE and Individual Development Plans

KPI 3.5 Parental involvement

KPI 3.6 Integration into RCE

KPI 3.7 Quality football provision

KPI 3.8 Quality academic provision

KPI 3.9 Safeguarding

KPI 3.10 Coaching Curriculum

KPI 3.11 Matches and Competitions

KPI 3.12 Performance tracking

KPI 3.13 National Teams

KPI 3.14 Transitioning to Professional Game

Each of the KPIs above has a set of checklist questions and some agreed targets attached to it. This form of planning is important for the FFG. It will be a challenge for many, particularly our new Advisory Boards and Management Committees of the three Regional Centres of Excellence.

What happens in the RCE will decide how successful our National Player Pathway becomes. How successful the pathway becomes decides the future of football in Gratifacio! I strongly urge all involved in football in our nation to get behind these developments!

Tanan Mansouri

FFG President