NFABD senior coach Stephen Ng Heng Seng (R) facilitating the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 'B' license coaching certificate course's practical session at the Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam football field yesterday. The first to be organised in Brunei, the course will be held over three weeks. BT/Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) kicked off the country's first-ever Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 'B' licence coaching certificate course yesterday.
Attracting eight local coaches and one coach each from England and Turkey, the three-week course will be led by AFC instructor Mike Wong Mun Heng - who will be assisted by NFABD senior coach Stephen Ng Heng Seng. "It is a very important step made by the NFABD in educating the coaches," said Wong in his welcoming speech at the NFABD House along Jalan Persidangan in Berakas yesterday morning.
"By providing this course, we will be able upgrade the qualification of the coaches in the country. "Educated football coaches will ensure very good youth football development, and with this we will be able to better coach the younger footballers and raise the standard of football in the country," said Wong, who is also NFABD's Technical Director
The 'B' certificate course is aimed at enhancing coaches with better coaching methodology, understanding of sport science and latest football developments following the recently concluded World Cup in Brazil. After attaining the 'B' licence coaching certificate, the coaches will need to obtain at least one year of coaching experience to assess their readiness before taking the 'A' licence coaching certificate.
They will then have to conduct another two years of coaching before they are eligible to sit for the AFC Professional Coaching Diploma, the highest professional coaching credential in Asia. Present as the guest of honour to officiate the opening ceremony was NFABD executive committee member Muhammad Radzuan Hj Madali.
Twenty-five coaches enrolled in the AFC 'C' licence coaching certificate course in June. Five of the 25 participants came all the way from Indonesia while the rest are consists of local coaches. The AFC 'C' licence coaching certificate is the entrance level course for all beginners, and this is where they will be able to understand general football education before they move on to a higher level in coaching.
The current AFC 'B' license course which runs until Aug 25 will consist of two theory and three practical sessions, with the first practical session held at the Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School football field in the capital yesterday afternoon. "The enthusiasm and the drive of the coaches is there, and I could sense their keenness for sitting for this course," said Ng, who served as the course's facilitator.
"The coaches in the country need a platform to practice right coaching ethics in order for more good and young players to develop, and that is why we are encouraging more and more people to take up the course. "However, for this course only 'C' licence holders are eligible to apply... And there are quite a limited number of committed 'C' licensed holders currently in the country.
"The current participants of this 'B' licence course are from the 2007/2008 batch. "The format of 'B' licence is quite similar to that of the 'C' licence course, except that it is a three-week course and the 'B' certificate course has more depth and covers more topics. "Some of the topics are repeated but have more explanations to it.
"The theory of sports science has more depth than that of in the previous 'C' licence certificate. "In fact, for this course we are looking at match analysis during the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (HBT) tournament period (and) we will ask the coaches to analyse at least three games," he added. By analysing the games the coaches will be able to identify and at the same time create and interpret data, all of which Ng feels will help the local coaches to better understand the game.
