Ghana hosts maiden FIFA seminar for General Secretaries/Technical Directors
The maiden Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) seminar for General Secretaries and Technical Directors of selected national Associations in Africa opened on Monday October 24, 2011 with a call on the participants to imbibe professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
The course, a joint partnership between FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is aimed at discussing modern managerial skills of the General Secretaries as well as refresh the technical abilities of the Technical Directors.
Nii Nortey Dua, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports who opened the seminar in Accra, described the seminar as timely as he noted it encompasses the four pillars of football namely Administration, Coaching, Refereeing and Sports Medicine.
He expressed the conviction that the issues to be discussed at the seminar will go a long way in enhancing the capabilities of the participants in their work.
The Deputy Minister commended FIFA for the confidence reposed in Ghana to host the historic seminar.
Thierry Regenass, FIFA Director of National Associations and Development said the seminar provides a platform to interact with the General Secretaries of the respective national associations and Technical Directors to plan forward towards the development of football on the continent.
He said the choice of General Secretaries was relevant giving the fact they act as the “Chief Executives” of the National Associations whilst the Technical Directors are responsible for the organisation of all football related activities.
Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) commended FIFA for its commitment to building capacities of National Associations on the Africa continent.
He emphasized that General Secretaries and Technical Directors are pillars in the administration of football and it is therefore imperative that they are equipped well with the requisite knowledge as far as the development of the game is concerned.
Participants from 17 countries including Ghana are taking part in the seminar which ends on 27 October.
The participating countries are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D’Voire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Source: GNA