Welsh football leaders to visit European teams

Managers and coaches from football clubs all over Wales will be visiting some of Europe’s top clubs to see how the game is taught on the continent.

A team of 18 coaches will be heading for Holland, Spain and Italy next week (Monday 8^th Feb) to bring back new ideas on developing future football talent in Wales.

The coaching visits are being made thanks to funding secured from the European Commission’s Leonardo Da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme.

The grant has enabled the Welsh Football Trust to send groups of coaches to Feyenoord, Espanyol and Torino as part of the funding which supports the development of skills and training in the UK.

The study visit delegates, who include former Welsh international Peter Nicholas, ex-professional Gareth Davies, Swansea City Head of Youth Football Tony Pennock, Robert Jeffries the Academy Manager at Llanelli and James Catton of GAP Connah’s Quay, will take part in training sessions and seminars outlining the philosophies, practices and player development strategies used at the three successful European clubs.

Working in partnership with the FAW, the Welsh Football Trust is responsible for developing participation, improving standards of coaching and identifying and developing talented players to support the future success of Wales’s international teams.

Chief Executive of the Welsh Football Trust Neil Ward said the funding from the Leonardo Programme would provide coaches with an invaluable insight into European training techniques which would be disseminated to other Welsh coaches through local coaching workshops.

"It is a huge achievement for the Welsh Football Trust to have secured this funding. The experience is undoubtedly an exciting opportunity, which I am confident will equip our coaches with an invaluable insight into the training techniques that have proven successful in Europe.

"The lessons learnt from these visits will play an important part in the future design and content of our player development and coach education programmes."

The full list of coaches and managers taking part in the European visits is: James Rowberry (WFT Leader), Cameron Toshack (Neath AFC), Ray Pennock (Neath AFC), Tony Bibey (UWIC), Clive Williams (Swansea City), Kevin Cooper (Cardiff), Mark Tawton (Merthyr Tydfil Academy), Carl Darlington (WFT Lead), James Catton (GAP Connah's Quay), Ioan Llewelyn (Bangor City), Gareth Owen (WFT), Ian Hughes (WFT), Mike Davies (TNS), Stewart Webber (Liverpool FC), Peter Nicholas (ex-Welsh International, (UEFA A Licence training), Geraint Twose (UEFA A Licence Coach, former pro), Robert Jeffries (Academy Manager at Llanelli FC and UEFA A Licence Coach), Gareth Davies (ex-international, currently on UEFA A Licence), Tony Pennock (Head of Youth at Swansea City, UEFA Pro Licence Coach).

To find out more about the work of the Welsh Football Trust visit www.welshfootballtrust.org.uk