Dutch Football makes return to Maharashtra for World Coaches Program

The Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) have kickstarted a training program with the Western India Football Association for young and aspiring footballers in Mumbai, Dutch football legend Johan Neeskens announced on Tuesday. Neeskens is a player who has featured in two consecutive World Cups (1974 and 1978), becoming the first Dutch player to score a goal at the World Cup Final. The ex-Ajax and FC Barcelona player will also be accompanied by two experienced colleagues for the five-day course at Cooperage. The program got underway on 22 August and Neeskens will conduct a demonstration training program on Dutch Football with a section of the Mumbai youth. “We are very happy to be back in Maharashtra. In December 2019 I was here myself as instructor of World Coaches and in those days we were hoping to intensify the coaching education. In the meantime, the World was closed due to the pandemic. Now it is time that the youth in India, boys and girls, come back to the field and that they are trained by well educated coaches, who do not only look at performance on the field, but also look at the well-being of children and guidance off the field,” said Neeskens. “A partnership with a football State like Maharashtra, Mumbai fits perfectly in our International Strategy, where we want to be seen as an Innovative Association, looking for impact and working for the Future of Football. Our new Partnership with Acosa Sports Infrastructure Services will give an extra impulse through the combination of more and better fields to play on and good coaching for children,” he added. The World Coaches Program has been globally active since 2010. Over 12 years, more than 16,000 coaches have joined the initiative worldwide from over 60 countries, with almost 30 per cent of them being female coaches.