Recently Sliema Wanderers FC nursery held another important event in its programme of activities after hosting a UEFA Study Group made up of almost 50 coaches from Gibraltar, Georgia, Liechtenstein and Malta.

The Malta FA, organisers of the Study Group on behalf of UEFA, asked Sliema to conduct the activities on the basis of a professional technical set-up with regards to grassroots football, catering not only for talented players but also mixed-abilities groups.

The Study Group was addressed by youth director of coaching Claude Chetcuti who explained the technical approach and the long-term player development programme adopted by the nursery.

Mark Borg, on behalf of the administration, delivered a presentation on the history and the day-to-day running of the nursery and its efforts and investment in qualified technical staff to keep offering the best possible coaching to the young, developing players.

This was followed by two simultaneous sample training sessions for different age groups conducted by Sliema nursery coaches.

The UEFA Study Group coaches were accompanied by Robert Gatt, Stephen Grima and Joseph Mallia from the MFA Technical Centre.

This is a very hectic time for the Wanderers nursery as no fewer than four teams from different age groups will soon be travelling abroad for tournaments and training.

Of special interest, is the Under-14s group visit to Dublin as part of an EU funded ‘Youth In Action’ exchange programme.