handbook for Technical Directors
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Role and responsibilities of the technical director / 1<br />
9<br />
1.3 The importance of a long-term development plan<br />
As mentioned at the beginning of this<br />
chapter, the technical director must<br />
produce a long-term vision starting from<br />
the reality of the football of the country.<br />
This implies both a sense of purpose (reach<br />
<strong>for</strong> the sky) and a very realistic approach<br />
(feet well planted on the ground). It<br />
also implies the understanding of all<br />
interconnected variables that are related to<br />
football development.<br />
For instance, everybody knows that youth<br />
football is an essential component <strong>for</strong> any<br />
long-term development plan, because the<br />
talented young players of today will be the<br />
top players of tomorrow.<br />
However, if we focus our attention on just<br />
one youth league – <strong>for</strong> instance a U-17<br />
competition – we will soon realise that this,<br />
in itself, is not sufficient. To understand<br />
it, one can simply answer the following<br />
questions:<br />
- Where will the players come from?<br />
- Who will recruit and select them?<br />
- Where will they play once they turn 18?<br />
- Who will be in charge of coaching them?<br />
- Are the coaches qualified?<br />
- Are there sufficient instructors to<br />
provide coaches with the right training?<br />
- Are there clubs that can provide the<br />
right framework <strong>for</strong> the players to<br />
evolve in the ideal way?<br />
- Who will ensure that there is no age<br />
cheating?<br />
These are just some of the many variables<br />
that have to be taken into account when<br />
developing the vision of the future and<br />
that will help us understand the need to<br />
build a competition’s structure that enables<br />
the gradual development of the players<br />
(U-15 and below, starting from grassroots)<br />
and the possibility <strong>for</strong> them to evolve<br />
towards the elite in a controlled<br />
environment (U-19 and above).<br />
A long-term development plan is there<strong>for</strong>e<br />
an integrated set of activities that follow<br />
a coherent approach and rein<strong>for</strong>ce each<br />
other over a long period. As we will see<br />
in Parts 5-8, in order to achieve long-term<br />
development, this <strong>handbook</strong> proposes a<br />
methodology based on the project cycle<br />
composed of four phases: analysis, strategy,<br />
implementation and monitoring.<br />
It is, however, important that during the<br />
definition of priorities and the specific<br />
approaches to be adopted, the technical<br />
director always keeps in mind the complex<br />
interplay of factors that constitute the<br />
basis <strong>for</strong> football development. Like in<br />
the solution of a puzzle, it is not only<br />
important to put two pieces together,<br />
but also to understand their place in the<br />
general picture.<br />
The graphical representation below is a<br />
simplified description of the logical links<br />
that exist between different football levels.<br />
Senior<br />
national team<br />
Regional<br />
competitions<br />
Senior elite<br />
competitions<br />
U-20<br />
national team<br />
Community<br />
football<br />
Youth competitions<br />
(various age categories)<br />
U-17<br />
national team<br />
Referees<br />
Grassroots (6-12 years)<br />
Coaches<br />
It takes all these pieces (and many more)<br />
to achieve a coherent development<br />
framework. The long-term development<br />
plan will identify the way in which the<br />
different steps can be achieved and be<br />
mutually rein<strong>for</strong>ced. For more in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
on the strategic approach, please refer to<br />
Part 6.