Written evidence submitted by Carlos Diaz-Sanchez
To whom it may concern,
I currently volunteer in the community by running
a local junior Under 14's football team. I am very passionate
about grassroots football and the development of our footballers,
who will become the next generation of home-grown players. Having
played junior football for a number of years, and entering in
to coaching soon after, I have a great level of experience in
this field and believe that I have a number of suggestions that
would be beneficial to the way we conduct the development of footballers
in this country.
Firstly, I believe that the government should set
up committees of volunteers, like myself, to address the failing
standards of development for our young footballers. I am currently
in my second year of A level studies and it is this youthful approach
that parents and clubs are desperate for when searching for coaches.
The FA is working hard in this area, but unfortunately all too
often it is a case of centralised directives that are difficult
to put in to practice and often characterised by bureaucracy.
This government was elected, partly, on the basis of devolution
of power to communities; it is people who actually work in grassroots
football, who brave the cold on winter mornings and who collect
subs money, that recognise the fundamental changes that need to
be made and I believe the government and the FA should make better
use of this advice.
Furthermore, the provision of facilities is crucial
to raising the standards of our development. My father is Spanish,
and on my regular visits to Spain, I visit their facilities in
both awe and envy; the quality of the training pitches that the
aspiring footballer use are phenomenal. A great emphasis has been
placed on providing conditions to encourage the technical development
of the young footballers, rather than focusing on the winning
mentality. The facilities they provide is linked to the style
of coaching; as previously mentioned, technical ability is the
primary focus of their development, and the governing body has
ensured that the conditions are perfect for the young players
to thrive. Despite a great charitable effort in terms of financial
grants, the UK still has a long way to go before the facilities
they provide are in line with those on the continent.
My key concern is the standard of school football.
When my father's generation were growing up, school football was
the most important element of their football development. It is
an unfortunate, but truthful, fact that school football has been
marginalised in recent years, partly as a result of central directives
to ensure that everybody is given opportunities to play, regardless
of their ability. I believe school football is something that
needs to be saved; it is under threat of becoming obsolete. I
know from coaching Sunday League football that my players, at
the age of 14, which should be the height of their school football,
are disillusioned and disinterested. I know from recent experience,
having played for both my school and my local club, the latter
at a particularly high level, that the standard in school football
was, frankly, disgraceful. I believe there needs to be a radical
overhaul of school football; too much responsibility lies with
P.E teachers, overburdened with a range of extra-curricular sports
in addition to their professional duties. In truth, many of these
teachers are not capable of delivering the standard of coaching
that school football requires and deserves. My solution to the
problem would be to adopt a similar system as in the United States
schools with regards to their football and basketball. This would
involve schools employing professional coaches to work on a full
time basis to be responsible for the management of the football
sides. I recognise that in the current economic climate, that
this is perhaps not practical. However, it should be a long term
goal for the government to pursue; it would raise standards throughout
the country and generate great social benefits. The coaches would
act as mentors to some of the most disillusioned pupils, who see
football as their only opportunity in life. The England 2018 bid
team adopted this theme, and I believed it to be the most convincing
of all the factors of the bid; football is a tool to promote social
cohesion and provide opportunities for those who would otherwise
become involved in a poor lifestyle. Football is our national
game; by adopting a measure as mentioned above, the standards
of development would increase dramatically, as shown in the United
States.
Finally, we must encourage more people to enter in
to coaching. It is a thoroughly rewarding experience but too many
people believe that the bureaucracy and administration outweigh
the benefits and simply do not get involved. Furthermore, the
cost of the FA courses is extortionate, and efforts need to be
made to reduce the price. These factors have led to the most disgraceful
of all statistics: only 2,769 English coaches hold Uefa's B, A
and Pro badges in comparison to 23,995 in Spain, 29,420 in Italy,
34,970 in Germany and 17,588 in France. This had led to a comparative
of ratio between young footballers to UEFA qualified coaches of
only 17:1 in Spain to a startling, and frankly embarrassing 812:
1 in England. It is essential that we tackle this embarrassing
statistic by providing more courses for prospective coaches and
ensure that they receive teaching of the highest standard.
As part of the unsuccessful, but excellent 2018 bid,
the FA promised to ensure that football development would be encouraged
throughout the world. Despite FIFA's rejection of our charitable
intentions, this government, in partnership with the FA, the Premier
League (whose financial capability is essential) and volunteers
such as myself, should make it a priority to ensure that we significantly
improve the standard of our development programme.
The details and issues above are just a small selection
of my ideas and suggestions for the problems I believe that English
grassroots football faces. I believe the government should utilise
volunteers, like myself, as part of task forces and committees
to address these problems.
England invented football. England gave football
to the world. Let us once again provide an example to the world,
by revolutionising football development and reaping the rewards
for generations to come.
I look forward to receiving your response to the
issues raised.
December 2010
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