AIFF wants 3-week coaching camp for Nehru Cup

Mumbai: The All India Football Federation has planned to conduct a three-week national coaching camp ahead of the Nehru Cup that kicks off on August 22 to help new chief coach Wim Koevermans get to know the players better, AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said on Monday.

"We have requested the clubs to release the players 21 days in advance. The clubs want to release them 14 days in advance. Wim is a new coach and needs time to get to know the players. We would talk to the clubs," Das said when asked about reports that some I-League clubs were opposed to releasing their players for three weeks. Das said as per current plans, the camp was scheduled to be held in Delhi but it could be shifted to Bangalore if it rained in the capital during the period under consideration. The AIFF official addressed the media after the commencement of the five-day coaching seminar conducted by Koevermans, AIFF`s Technical Director Rob Baan and Technical Director of Regional and Elite Academies Scott O`Donnell. Sixty five coaches from all over India, including AIFF contracted and some from I-League clubs, are taking part in the seminar at Navi Mumbai through which the football federation intends to educate and produce better coaches and players via "match related" coaching. Dutchman Koevermans said he would be happy to spend two to three weeks with the players ahead of the Nehru Cup and he declared that winning the tournament would be his first goal. From whatever he had seen through watching videos of the Indian players, the new coach felt they were not able to keep possession of the ball for long. Former captain Bhaichung Bhutia, a guest speaker, said the new generation of players should take full advantage of the top flight AIFF coaching staff and improve their skills. Baan stressed on the importance of having uniformity in the style of play across the length and breadth of the country though he had noticed that in general players from northern states were taller and possessed more power while those from the south were shorter and faster. PTI