Akenten touts Fifa grassroots initiative
by Gary Al-Smith 22 June 2012, 14:08
The Technical Director of the Ghana Football Association has touted the feasibility and effectiveness of the Fifa Grassroots programme that starts in Kumasi on Friday.
The world football governing body aims to boost the game in the country and it goes on till Sunday, June 24.
"The aim of this program is to ensure continuity of the talent that we have in this country," Francis Oti Akenteng told SuperSport.com. "Not only that, we have educators who will make sure that these talented young ones have formal knowledge - which is very important in this day and age."
The world governing body's development officer Yvon Avry is in Kumasi to lead the training programme that will involve coaches and 100 children. According to Akenten, the programme has more than 25 Ghanaian coach educators undergoing training on how to train the children.
Akenten, who doubles as Education and Development officer of the Ghana FA, will sync all initiatives underpinning the programme. "We will have close to a hundred children chosen from the schools in Kumasi to take part in it."
Fifa officials will supervise the entire porcess, which, according to the Ghana FA, is the first of its kind to be held in Ghana but has taken place in some African countries already.
The Fifa Grassroots programme places at its core, an emphasis on the notion of both education and fun for the children.
The programme claims to advocate exchanges and sharing human values and promote the pleasure of practising the game. Fifa also says it promotes mass participation and inclusivity as "everyone has the right to play regardless of gender, age, skills, race, social origin and religion."
