- Over 90 new coaches participated in the SAFF Football Academy’s coaching courses in Jordan’s Al Zaatari camp for Syrian Refugees
- In line with SAFF’s ambition to grow global football together with its partners, the initiative saw male and female coaches secure their ‘C’ and ‘D’ licenses
9 May 2024: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) continues to grow its international coaching program following recent successful development sessions of the SAFF Football Academy in Al-Zaatari camp in Jordan, held in collaboration with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and the West Asian Football Federation.
Now in its fourth edition since its official launch in 2021, the project stands as part of the SAFF’s wider humanitarian initiatives to support socioeconomic growth and development by developing the football academy infrastructure and empowering communities to continue the growth of the game.
The recent week-long program saw over 90 including Syrian refugees from the Al-Zaatari camp in North Jordan coaches completing the interactive coaching courses, with 46 new qualified ‘C’ and ‘D’ license coaches emerging from the project as a result.
The week also saw a historic introduction of the D-level workshop held exclusively for women, led by SAFF Women’s Football Technical Director, Monika Staab.
27 women from the Al-Zaatari and Al Azraq camps participated in the inaugural session, a key milestone moment in SAFF’s overarching ambition to support the international growth of women’s football with further participation planned across its wider development programs in the near future.
Nazeeh Al Nasser, President of the Social Responsibility Committee at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation said: “It is with great pride to see the tremendous growth in participation through our recent international coaching program in Jordan, which saw 46 coaches take their first steps in achieving their C or D coaching licenses.
“It is of great importance for SAFF to play our part in supporting the development of the required football academy infrastructure to aid the sport’s growth, and we look forward to seeing further participation in our programs in line with our ambition to grow the global game together with our international partners.”
As part of the ongoing project in Jordan, the program also featured youth tournaments for the local communities with over 200 young players participating in the U11 and U15 youth competitions.
Aligned with the nation’s wider Growing Together campaign, SAFF’s ongoing efforts alongside its international partners in the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and the West Asian Football Federation are set to continue, with further coach development programs to take place in Jordan in the coming months.