A week ago, we told you about the vision that the Football Federation of Belize has for the sport under the leadership of President Sergio Chuc.
They want to move on from the stigma of negative publicity that the 2 previous FFB Administrations struggled with. And more importantly, they want to see that Belize’s football reaches a higher level of professional play. To do this, the FFB has been focusing on developing football at the grassroots level. They want to start training the next generation of footballers through early development.
It’s a long-term investment, and last year, the FFB engaged several thousand children countrywide in football activities as part of their grassroots program.
It is still ongoing, and today, we stopped by one of the sessions.
Here’s what the coordinator of the program had to say:
Stanley Reneau - Director, Grassroots Program, FFB
"Last year, the Football Federation started a grassroots program in each district, with some of the rural schools, and some of the schools inside their district. We covered all districts, and this is now part two of the grassroots program. Today, we are doing the Belize District, and today, we have 4 schools."
"Grassroots is the introduction to football. It’s a 1-hour program, where we get them warmed up - dynamic warm-up, and then we warm up with fun games. We teach them 3 skills, 3 basic, and then break down the skills into 3. From there we play friendly games."
Reporter
"Give us an idea of how the reception has been from the kids countrywide."
Stanley Reneau
"Mein, very well, and the thing is we only touch some of the schools because its just a 4-day program in each district. How we identify schools? The Football Federation has an office in each district, and they have a technical officer. They engage the school. They have a technical officer and a secretary who works full-time, and is being paid under the Federation."
Reporter
"How do you view this particular program, trying to grow the next generation of footballers for Belize?"
Stanley Reneau
"It’s here we start. This is where we start, from grassroots, where they could be taught the fundamentals, and the right fundamentals of the sport.â€
We understand that later this year, FIFA plans to highlight the work that the FFB did last year for this FFB Grassroots Program.
Email
Print