Football for Friendship Launches International Academy for Kids' Team Coaches

The International Football for Friendship Academy is a free online course featuring a set of practical exercises aimed at improving the qualifications of kids' football team coaches as well as P.E. teachers.

The Academy’s online course contains knowledge, practical advice, and recommendations on organising training and promoting the values of a healthy lifestyle. The educational course is available in 10 languages: Russian, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Arabic, and Hindi.

The course was developed by the authors of the sports and humanitarian educational programme Football for Friendship. Soccer Barcelona Youth Academy CEO Miquel Puig, Delhi Dynamos manager Josep Gombau, Director of Regional Policies and International Relations Alexey Smertin, Manager of Technical Development and Social Responsibility for the Brazilian national football team Diogo Netto, Women's FC Alkmaar (the Netherlands) coordinator Gerard Timmers, football players from FC Zenit and FC Schalke 04, representatives of football federations from around the world, and many others participated in creating the course.

During the events of the Seventh Season in Madrid, several practical video lessons were made with the participation of young players and coaches from different countries.

At the 2019 International Football for Friendship Forum Press Conference, dedicated to the launch of the Academy, Real Madrid and Brazil Legend, World Cup winner and 3-time UEFA Champion League Winner Roberto Carlos voiced his appreciation for the significance of the educational initiative.

"Football for Friendship is an absolutely unique programme, and kids from all over the world wish to join it. Uniting the sports and humanitarian parts, the project helps young participants develop their talents, choose their way in life, and become bright leaders."

The programme carries out an important mission, promoting the notion of global cultural equality among the youngsters. "If our kids learn to be friends and treat all people with respect, and forget their differences, they will be able to build a better future," says Roberto Carlos.

The online course of the Academy consists of 4 modules: How to teach values, How to teach mixed teams, Life hacks for coaches of children’s teams, and Key aspects of sports management in children’s football. The lessons feature certain instructions from experts who work with children, examples of exercises, which coaches can do with their students, and fragments of speeches from experts from the International Football for Friendship Forum, tests, and tasks for individual work.

“The Academy will help coaches from around the world to develop their professional skills and let them become a part of the global community of like-minded colleagues. For many years, football has remained the most popular and available sport in the world. This game helps kids learn to believe in themselves and develop their talents. For Young Players, coaches become their guides in the wonderful world of football.

The application process for the International Football for Friendship Coaches Academy is now open. 

The International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship has been implemented by Gazprom since 2013. The key values promoted by the programme's participants are friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.

Football for Friendship is supported by the UEFA, FIFA, International Olympic Committee, the football federations of different countries, children’s international charity funds, famous athletes, and the leading football clubs of the world. For the previous seasons, the programme has brought more than six thousand participants together and acquired over five million followers, including famous athletes, artists, and politicians.