Technical Development
In 2022, in line with The Vision 2020-2023, FIFA launched a groundbreaking new programme – the Talent Development Scheme – to give every talent a chance.
In February 2022, FIFA launched the innovative FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS), offering bespoke assistance to member associations to help them achieve their full potential and continuing the measures taken to reduce the disparity in the level of football between different regions of the world.
As the year progressed, the TDS became part of FIFA’s collaborative work with member associations to increase global competitiveness. FIFA takes a holistic approach to technical and education projects, also represented by new performance analysis and insights on the field as well as the FIFA Training Centre, launched in 2021 as a modern and dynamic knowledge-sharing platform.
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“One of our over-arching aims is to give every talent a chance.”
“One of our over-arching aims is to give every talent a chance,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “The launching of the FIFA Talent Development Scheme is one of the keys to achieving that objective. It follows on from the ground-breaking analysis of the football talent development ecosystem in over 200 of our member associations and will give boys and girls the chance to maximise their potential.”
FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger further explained the significance of the TDS, and how it will be rolled out worldwide. “I am delighted that, with the launch of the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, we have taken another significant step towards giving every talent a chance, no matter where or when they are born,” said Wenger. “By launching this programme for global benefit, we can improve the equality of opportunity for players across all six confederations and all 211 member associations.”
The FIFA President’s Vision 2020-2023 targets working towards increasing global competitiveness, with Goal 6 specifying the ambition of having 50 national teams and 50 clubs competing at the highest level for global silverware.
A busy year for the FIFA Technical Study Group
Starting at the FIFA Club World Cup 2021™ in Abu Dhabi, FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) were tasked with selecting the Man of the Match. A team of analysts monitors, tracked and coded the performance of every player, noting a player’s movement, with and without the ball, how many times they break through lines of defence, and how much pressure they put on opposition ball carriers.
This analysis meant that over 15,000 data points are collected per game. The vision of Arsène Wenger is for such data to be used to increase and develop the understanding of the game for team analysts, coaches, players and the media, as well as to improve the overall fan experience.
Analysts used the new FIFA Football Language, which has been over two years in the making. It provides an open resource for coaches and players all across the world, aligning technical expertise and developing all levels of the game. The insights were later used at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ to better understand trends at the very top of the game.
FIFA Training Centre
Launched in November 2021, the FIFA Training Centre is an innovative tool that is available to players, coaches and fans all across the world.
Boasting a comprehensive bank of technical football information, the online academy features insightful resources developed by the sport’s leading experts and illustrates FIFA’s goal to harness technology for the benefit of the global game – a key part of The Vision 2020-2023, as set out by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
In 2022, a series of new sessions were added to the platform, including:
• Goalkeeping
• Possession
• Transitions and overloads
• Counter-pressing
• Link-up play
• Switching play
• Defensive transitions
FIFA Coach Educators’ Development Pathway seminar
As soon as Argentina were crowned world champions in Qatar, the FIFA Global Football Development Division turned their attention to the next edition of the tournament. In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted by three Concacaf countries – the USA, Mexico and Canada, with the latter also hosting a seminar on the FIFA Coach Educators’ Development Pathway on 19 December 2022. With the senior men’s team having qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986 and the women’s team winning an historic Olympic gold in 2021, Canada is certainly reaping the rewards of the effectiveness of its development programmes with the support of FIFA and Concacaf.
Not every member association has the same level of resources to call on, however, and FIFA – as set out in The Vision 2020-2023 – is looking to extend its support to each and every one of them.