Two intensive high-level football development courses focusing on elite youth coaching and goalkeeping are set to begin at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru from May 18 to 22, 2025.
The programmes, jointly organized by FIFA and the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), are part of FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme (TDS), which supports FUFA’s long-term Technical Master Plan (TMP) 2023–2030.
A total of 48 participants, 24 in coaching and 24 in goalkeeping, will take part in the sessions, which will be facilitated by a team of six internationally recognized FIFA experts.
The delegation is led by Christos Kanelleas, FIFA’s Training & Education Project Delivery Manager under the High Performance Unit.
The team also includes Callum James Christopher Irving and Simon Paul Jennings (UK), Alejandro Alfredo Heredia (Argentina), Cameron Euston Cox (South Africa), and Adel Amorouche (Belgium).
The five-day programme aims to build local capacity in elite youth football development, sharpening the skills of coaches involved with national youth teams and selected representatives from FUFA’s eight regions.
Graduates of the course will play a pivotal role in developing young talent through Regional Schools of Excellence and the FUFA National Academy.
This initiative aligns with FUFA’s systematic approach to talent development as outlined in its Technical Master Plan.
Earlier phases of the project saw the training and deployment of 311 FUFA Grade 4 Football Scouts across the country. These scouts have since identified 1,385 promising young players—1,015 boys and 370 girls whose profiles have been recorded in FUFA’s Talent ID Online System.
In the lead-up to the coaching courses, a six-member FUFA Technical Team carried out a regional scouting trial from May 14 to 15 at Otino Wa Comprehensive SS in Northern Uganda.
The trial involved 324 youth players shortlisted by the G4 Scouts. Selected players will be enrolled in elite training programmes.
FUFA Football Development Director Ali Mwebe emphasized the importance of aligning the talent identification efforts with quality training for coaches.
“When you examine the above talent identification and development environment being propagated under the TMP and well supported by FIFA TDS, the two courses in elite youth coaching and elite youth goalkeeping have definitely come at the perfect time. After identification, what follows is development, and coaches are going to be sharpened by the visiting FIFA experts,” Mwebe stated.
