Arsène Wenger and Talent Development Scheme (TDS): The ultimate goal is to ensure that a uniform coaching methodology and philosophy is employed across all academies worldwide
HIBAPRESS-RABAT-FIFA
FIFA’s Director of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger says trends are “very positive” for the Talent Development Scheme (TDS). Meanwhile, new FIFA talent coaches have joined their colleagues for a workshop at the Home of FIFA.
In December 2023, at the FIFA Football Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Arsène Wenger announced that the goal of having 75 elite academies worldwide by the end of 2027 was one of the keys to the TDS. This is also in line with FIFA’s Strategic Objectives for World Football: 2023-2027.
Established in 2021 to give every girl and boy the opportunity to develop their potential by opening a door to professional football for the most talented, regardless of their place of residence and their financial situation, the TDS is now growing in size.
“This is becoming a large-scale operation. It contributes to the development of football in all countries. Let’s keep in mind that the basis of our strategy is to give a chance to talents from all over the world,” Arsène Wenger explained. “When I look back, in 2021, when we asked ourselves, ‘What can we do for football in the world?’, and now we are here. Even I am quite surprised at how quickly everything has happened. But it is not enough, our wish is to do much more. I really want to thank everyone who has been involved in this project, because they have worked very, very hard, and things are looking very positive.”
In order to ensure optimal implementation of the TDS, which has been rolled out in 176 Member Associations, FIFA has delegated TDS officers to assess the criteria to be met for the implementation of the initial phase of the project.
The next step will be to assign FIFA talent coaches to each Member Association (MA), where they will work with local stakeholders to develop a national coaching network.
Around 22 of them have already been deployed and joined 14 new colleagues for a week-long workshop at FIFA Headquarters in Zurich. This is to create personal and professional connections that will be a fundamental pillar of the TDS.
“We held several webinars in advance to discuss all the organisational issues, so that we could fully concentrate on what will happen on the pitch this week,” said Ulf Schott, head of FIFA’s high performance programme department. “That’s where our talent coaches will be a source of inspiration, for the youngsters, and for the other coaches who work with them, who should then (replicate) our strategy, what we want to achieve with the academy in the country.”
Wenger co-presented a lecture entitled ‘The Modern Game and the Player of Tomorrow’. Other aspects of the workshop included player safety, observation and selection, practical training sessions and the principles of elite development. The ultimate aim is to ensure that a uniform coaching methodology and philosophy is employed across all TDS academies.
