Coach Emmanuel Amuneke has described the Spanish Football Federation organized UEFA Pro Coaching Seminar held over the weekend in Santander as enriching and engrossing, adding Nigerian coaches must be exposed to continuous education in order to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.
The former Barcelona winger who is a holder of the prestigious UEFA Pro License, said the seminar which is a biennial event was an opportunity to rub minds with some elite coaches in order to update his knowledge ‘ since the game is not static.
“It was a great privilege to participate in this kind of programme because it offers me the opportunity to update my knowledge and you know as a coach, it is important for us to constantly re-evaluate and update ourselves about the new trends in coaching,” said the former Tanzania national team coach. “Just as the players are evolving, the coaches too need to continue to develop themselves and that is why this program is very important to me.”
Some of the instructors at this year’s seminar included current Spanish national team manager Manuel Casas popularly known as Molo; Atletico Bilbao coach Juan Iribarren, erstwhile Barcelona coach Quique Setien, current Goalkeeping coach of Real Valladolid José Manuel Santisteban as well as former World Cup winner Xavi Alonso amongst others.
“It was opportunity to share knowledge with so many experienced coaches, teachers as well as people working with the Spanish national team and learn new things regarding planning and management of the game,” he said. “I hope a lot of our coaches back home will also have the opportunity of retraining themselves from time to time.”
Meanwhile, the former African Footballer of the Year was last night awarded Sports Icon of the Year 2021/2022 by the organisers of the Nigeria Iconic Watch Media Grand Award at its gala held at Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.