Arsene Wenger’s legacy in the English Premier League football is beyond question and compare!
Over two decades, the Frenchman’s Arsenal won hearts, broke records and changed their image forever.
Many will remember his feat in 2003 and 2004, when his Invincibles captivated all and sundry by going on a 49-match unbeaten streak, becoming the first English team since time immemorial to go through an entire season without tasting defeat.
With the same resolve, this time in his capacity as chief of global football development for FIFA, Wenger is leading the world governing body’s biggest-ever audit into the future of football.
ARSENE WENGER’S MISSION
The three-time EPL winner is traversing the world with his mission to engage national football bodies to enhance global football growth.
While that mission has yet to land him in South Africa, SAFA is one of over 200 football associations across all confederations that have signed up for FIFA’s first Talent Development Programme.
“Arsene Wenger did the research worldwide – all the 211 federations, of which South Africa is one.
“The approach was increasing global competitiveness. He looked at every aspect of football in our country and many others and how we can increase global competitiveness,” SAFA president Danny Jordaan told FARPost.
Early in February, SAFA reached out to the retired football manager before a FIFA workshop that helped put to finality the Vision 2030 document. Vision 2030 is the strategic template and operational plan the country’s football mother body seeks to use to chart a new way forward for the beautiful game.
Enter UEFA last week, who engaged in a review of what was achieved under Vision 2022 and the challenges faced by the association as it looks into the future
“We’ve asked Arsene Wenger to come to South Africa…to engage with the Technical Director [Walter Steenbok] and other technical officials in South Africa,” revealed Jordaan.
DANNY JORDAAN PICKS ONE AREA WHERE SA COULD BENEFIT
The veteran administrator, Jordaan, has singled out the one area where the Wenger visit could spark a revolution.
“When we started with Vision 2022, one of the biggest problems was that we didn’t have enough qualified coaches,” he said.
Research shows that most successful European countries use the 1:20 coach:player ratio, with those mentors holders of the UEFA A License.
“In South Africa, we had one coach to 200, and those coaches also, very few have a professional license and an A license,” explained Jordaan.
The 1:20 ratio allows a coach to take a keen interest in a child’s development as a footballer and a person. It also means that players are constantly supervised while sessions are safer and more fun.
For players, there is less standing around waiting to partake in a drill, which can lead to boredom.
Therefore, Coach Education and Coach Development would be critical as the soles of Wenger’s feet touch South African soil.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED
“It’s very important because if we don’t have qualified coaches, we will not produce quality players. So it’s an area we focus on.
“When PSL teams are playing in the CAF Champions League, most coaches cannot sit on the bench because they don’t have an A license or a professional license.
“But they’re already coaching at the highest level. So we have to correct that and say this is the requirement for you to be a coach in the PSL, this is the requirement at the NFD and so on.
“He will certainly engage at that level,” concluded Jordaan.
Chief among Wenger’s focus areas is the passage into the professional game and the development of players and coaches at the grassroots level.
Jordaan, credited for leading South Africa’s successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid – the first for Africa – stressed that the association had not shifted from their vision 2022 targets.
Bafana Bafana, who are two games away from qualifying for the 2023 AFCON, have climbed up 13 spots in the FIFA world rankings. They are ranked 67th from 80th and number 12 in the African continent. Banyana Banyana, who are reigning African champions, are ranked 28th in the world and number two in Africa behind Nigeria.
They will participate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup later this year.
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