PZPN

UEFA Share is a project whose overarching aim is to share the experience of representatives of UEFA member football associations. It includes regular workshops for coaches, but also for those in managerial positions. During the workshops, representatives of individual national associations share their knowledge and good practices, at the same time seeking inspiration in solutions used by other associations.

This year, the four-day workshop for technical directors was attended by representatives of 12 football associations: England, Denmark, France, Northern Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Italy and Poland, represented by Marcin Dorna. For the Polish Football Association's sporting director, this was the second conference of this type - in August 2022 he attended a workshop organised in Leeds by UEFA and FIFA.

This time, the meeting was held at St. George's Park, which is the centre of the English association and also the venue of the local national teams. This year's conference started with a guided tour of this impressive complex. The focus then shifted to discussions and workshops. The range of topics was as broad as the competences of technical directors or - as in Poland - sporting directors.

We talked about talent identification, their development in cooperation with clubs, competition structures or the organisation of the work of training departments. We pointed out the biggest challenges facing our associations. It is good to see how certain things work elsewhere, while at the same time being able to present our own projects, concludes Marcin Dorna. I have to admit that, upon my return, we will analyse some of the solutions I have heard about here in more detail and try to adapt them to our conditions. It is not possible to apply them in an identical way, he adds.

Other topics discussed during the conference included, among other things, youth national team head coaches: where they usually come from, their competences and experience, and the educational requirements imposed on them by the various associations. In addition, two last year's tournaments were analysed: the U-21 European Championships and the U-17 World Cup. In the former case, the analysis was carried out by Lee Carsley, head coach of the EURO triumphs, the England national team. In the latter, Dorna, among others, contributed a lot of his conclusions - after all, Poland was one of the five European teams at the World Cup in Indonesia.

The sports director of the Polish Football Association was also keen to talk about projects that have been working effectively in our country for a long time. The Talent Pro, which is a system for taking care of the most talented players in the three national teams with the lowest age category, was particularly praised by other workshop participants.

All UEFA Share conferences have one thing in common. The European federation's way of teaching has no place for lectures - the work is based on the active involvement of all participants. The speaker for a given subject area addresses it, but the main focus is on discussion and group work. This system is intended to have the best impact on the development of technical and sporting directors. UEFA assumes that investment in this group is important in terms of the development of the entire football ecosystem in Europe.

The role and the impact of technical directors is crucial, both at their respective national football environment but also for the future of European football. Technical Directors are key; they are responsible for defining and leading the technical development programmes and processes of the individual national associations, said Head Of Technical Development at UEFA Frank Ludolph at a previous UEFA Share conference. Frontline coaches try to win the next game, Technical Directors try to win the next decade, he added.