COSAFA hosts first ever Technical Study Group symposium

COSAFA will continue its ground-breaking development work off the pitch with the first ever Technical Study Group (TSG) symposium that is being staged in Johannesburg on Thursday and Friday this week.

It is another exciting initiative from COSAFA to elevate the standard of football in the Southern African region and create a conducive environment for world-class tournaments at all age-group levels.

The TSG plays a vital role at any tournament in assessing trends and analysing the football on display to provide feedback to Member Associations, coaches and other stakeholders involved within the teams.

This can be in the form of team systems, formations, style of play and the individual performance of players, which is invaluable to coaches to not only plan for the future but assess current developments within football.

Some of the leading experts in South African football – technical directors, coaches past and present and former players will be involved in the discussions.

Current Namibia coach Collin Benjamin, South Africa’s Dr Desiree Ellis, Roger de Sa, Shaun Bartlett and Shilene Booysen, Lesotho’s Leslie Notsi, Zimbabwe’s Wilson Mutekede, SA’s Mark Fish and Mauritius Football Association technical director Zunaid Mall are just some of the panelists offering their expertise.

Former players Reneilwe Letsholonyane, as well as current South Africa goalkeeper Kaylin Swart, will also be panelists.

That is on top of experts in the field of sports psychology, sports science and performance analysis who will give presentations and lead panel discussions.

“We continue to strive to further our mandate to provide world class development initiatives in the Southern African region and this TSG symposium is another huge step forward for COSAFA,” says Mr. Walter Manda, COSAFA EXCO and Chairman of Technical and Development Committee.

“We pride ourselves on hosting world class tournaments from the Under-15 age-group up to the senior national teams, and we always try to take forward the learnings from these to improve on and off the pitch in the future.

“The TSGs at our tournaments are vital for our region to keep up with the latest football trends and help our teams be more competitive on a continental and global level.

“We are delighted to have such a distinguished group of speakers and panelists that will provide expert knowledge and their vast experience of many decades in the game.”

COSAFA continues to play a vital growth role in the region, providing skills development on and off the pitch through its tournaments, workshops, leadership programmes and symposiums.