In an effort to raise the standard of football in Jamaica as of September 2009, all coaches must achieve minimum certification in a more comprehensive manner through the University of Technology (UTech)/Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Coaching School.
The move is expected to facilitate improved qualification to concentrate on the training of young footballers.
According to Howard McIntosh, chairman of the technical committee of the JFF, the coaching school was instituted in collaboration with UTech to add a tertiary component to drastically improve the standard of the game.
McIntosh was speaking in an interview with The Gleaner following the official launch of the training school at Lillian's Restaurant, UTech, yesterday.
"The programme must happen in order to raise the standard of our football. If coaches do not register and get certified, they cannot coach in Jamaica. The curriculum requirements will entail specific prerequisites for coaches to coach at different levels," McIntosh said.
President of the JFF, Captain Horace Burrell, in lauding the efforts of the organising committee, stated that part of the mandate of the federation for 2009 was the long-term growth of football in Jamaica.
"Unless you have a proper coaching school, football will not realise its full potential in Jamaica. The coaching school will add some uniformity that will be on par with all certification standards and will be an outlet that coaches can seek to continue their education and upgrade themselves," Burrell said.
The Advanced Level One course is expected to start on February 7 and will include technical football preparation; rules in Module One; and basic coaching sciences in Module Two.
Subsidy
The charge to students has been minimised through sponsorship and based on a subsidy, it will cost $10,000 per person for the entire course.
McIntosh stated that for the first course they are expecting a minimum of 40 students. The duration of the course will be six weeks, with sessions twice weekly on Saturday and Sunday.
He indicated that later on, a two-week intensive course would be added to the programme.
McIntosh stated that there were also plans to partner with other academic institutions, including G. C. Foster College, to conduct these courses.
"The lecturers will be certified FIFA/UTech instructors and so coaches will have the highest level of tutoring throughout the course," McIntosh added.
Coordinator of the JFF/UTech Coaching School, Dr Winston Dawes, stated that there had been a number of achievements in track and field and there was no reason why the programme could not be replicated and continued on a permanent basis.
"When we started the track and field course it was 20 years ago. We had no idea what would have happened; but now we have seen the results where we are number one in the world. I am sure that sponsors, once they start seeing success, will come on board and make it economically viable," Dr Dawes said.
He further stated that there was natural talent in football in Jamaica and he had no doubt that in another four or five years, Jamaica would dominate at the youth level and in another 10 years, they would be the best in CONCACAF.
"What we are going to have is that coaches who have been formally trained will be able to identify the various skills and talent of prospective football players and convert them from mediocrity into being first-class footballers," Dawes stated.