9 May 2023 – SAFA Technical Director Walter Steenbok and Head of the High Performance Center girls football program Sherly Botes attended a FIFA Knowledge Exchange Workshop in the Algerian capital of Algiers last week alongside other Technical Directors from around the continent; where strategies and ideas were shared on how Africa can maximize their growth in football development. The workshop was aimed at empowering Member Associations on Technical and High Performance matters.
The Technical Development Scheme was one of the main topics of the week. “The Knowledge exchange workshop was a great experience for use and we focused a lot on areas of development and how to maximize what we as Members Associates have at our disposal,” said Botes.
“The Technical Development Scheme (TDS) was one of the main topics; where we learnt on how to support long-term development pathways in order for us to identify talented young girls and boys through structured systems. We also exchanged knowledge on the following topics; National Teams, Management systems, resources, training and education of both coaches and scouts, Academies and Competitions at youth level.
It was also important for us as the MA’s to understand our unique national playing philosophies, strategic visions which speak to age and talent identification and also the concept of team work;” added Botes.
SAFA Technical Director Walter Steenbok also spoke to www.www.safa.net on the importance of stakeholders buying into the vision of the Association in order for us to build together.
“FIFA touched on the critical aspect of football which is team work. This philosophy goes beyond the playing field, as we need everyone to work together to accomplish our common goal. We need clubs, universities, academies, parents, level, the private sector and the whole nation be buy into this product called football that we as an MA are building.
I believe that this topic was important during the workshop and we have to bring this information back to South Africa and ensure that we implement this for the future of our football;” said Steenbok.