The current drive by the Malta Football Association and the Gozo Football Association to upgrade the standard of the game on the sister island has been transformed into concrete action by organising a high-level course for Gozitan coaches.

The UEFA C Licence course is a fundamental step ahead to set the basis for establishing rigid criteria in the coaching sector.

Through courses of this kind interested persons may obtain the necessary qualification for coaching so that eventually the Gozitan association may implement its ambition to impose a requirement on all clubs to have qualified staff in charge of their respective teams.

Qualified coaching is the basic aspect in the game of football if one is aiming to improve the level of the footballers and of the game in general.

The collaboration between the MFA and the GFA was essential to organise the course which was held at the Gozo Stadium.

The MFA is providing its staff from the Technical Centre while the GFA is making all its facilities available throughout the course.

The GFA also provided partial funding to the coaches coming from the local clubs to reduce the financial burden from both the clubs and the participants.

The first days of the course, which is scheduled to take place over six weekends, saw the participation of Malta FA staff personnel Stephen Grima, head of coach education, and youth develop-ment head Carmel Busuttil.

Fr Hilary Tagliaferro and Robert Gatt, together with the CEO of the Malta FA Bjorn Vassallo, were also present.

The first UEFA ‘C’ coaching course in Gozo has 29 participants from all the clubs affiliated to the GFA. The final assessments are expected to take place by the end of May.