A BIRDS EYE VIEW
It was a project that took about 3 years to complete, went across 26 countries and had just one simple purpose.
TO FIND A BETTER WAY OF COACHING players to make them more complete and better football players.
As Kenn Schmidt Nielsen went around the world, he observed a large chunk of what we see today in the world of football.
Some of those observations were path breaking, while others were quite well known. After 3 years on the road, we finally get to take a peek at what Kenn has accumulated besides flyer miles with airline companies.
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What is the most important thing you need to possess when trying to create a successful product or service?
Well, you need to know everything there is to know about that product or service if you want others to buy it.
Danish Project Revolutionizing the World of Football
Global Football Training is a new project travelling the world to map, analyse and boost training techniques for future generations of footballers.
Kenn Schmidt Nielsen is the driving force behind Global Football Training and he set off on the first leg of a world tour in October 2010. Three years on, the trip is coming to an end; however, the aim remains the same: to map the world of football by visiting footballing institutions across the globe.
“Spending hours watching teams train and play is a necessity to collect data and one thing is certain: talented footballers come from all parts of the world,” says Kenn Schmidt.
A Footballing Journey: To the End of the World and Back
Global Football Training takes a first-hand glance at academies and coaching at legendary clubs, sleeping giants and talent-producing machines.
Football is a true global sport. No other sport can fill stadiums all over the world, and the British Isles have their fair share of legendary clubs, passionate fans and oil-rich owners. With the Premier League being the flagship of British football, Global Football Training´s world tour could not look beyond Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea – as well as minnows Bristol City.
“These clubs have turned out some talented footballers. Wayne Rooney, Raheem Sterling and Jack Rodwell are just a few names on a long list of players to make it onto the international stage, and Global Football Training cannot pass up a chance to see why,” says Kenn Schmidt, CEO of Global Football Training.
Pros and Cons: An In-Depth Look at Coaching in the U.S.
Global Football Training is back in the U.S. to take a close look at coaching setups, technical skills and tactical competencies.
Sport is an inherent part of culture and life in the U.S., and leading universities and academies boast a proven track record in regards to developing gifted athletes. America won 46 gold medals at the Olympic Games in London and was a dominant force in almost every sport – from track and field to shooting.
But the country seems unable to compete with its more illustrious opponents in the global version of football. And why is that? To answer this question, Global Football Training has taken an in-depth look at coaching at youth and senior level, and spent time at the NSCAA Convention in Indianapolis.
And one factor stands out: “clubs, academies and universities are blessed with state-of-the-art facilities that clubs in Europe would envy. But they lack the ability to develop a large number of talented players,” says Kenn Schmidt, CEO of Global Football Training.
Nurturing the Talent of Tomorrow: A Preliminary Conclusion
Global Football Training examines the pros and cons of modern approaches to player development in Africa, South America and Europe.
A footballing world tour is reaching its final stages as Global Football Training is on its way to Asia and Australasia, leaving behind the traditional powerhouses of world football. Therefore, it is time to recap some of the lessons learned by taking a closer look at modern approaches to player development.
Three years on from setting out on a trip to map and analyse coaching techniques and player development schemes, Kenn Schmidt, CEO of Global Football Training, points out that coaching methods are dominated by similar trends:
“New methods and ground-breaking philosophies are few and far between. From Europe to South America, academies tend to employ similar coaching techniques. However, a few clubs and academies stand out and try to do things differently – as a change in structure might improve the end product.”
Global Football Training launched its world tour with high hopes of experiencing different coaching structures and approaches to player development.
State of Affairs – Getting a Feel for Football Down Under.
Global Football Training´s world tour has come to an end, and it is time to reflect on coaching and player development in Australasia and look at the region´s progress in a challenging environment.
Australia and New Zealand are considered the teams to beat in sports such as rugby and cricket and have a proud history at the Olympics. Nonetheless, both countries are unable to master the global game even though the Socceroos and All Whites featured at the last World Cup – and both teams are still in the hunt for a place at Brazil 2014.
“Australia and New Zealand cause the occasional upset and produce a Premier League star now and again, but both teams fail to mount a serious challenge. Thus, visiting clubs and academies in the region will provide valuable info as to what is needed to become a mainstay on the global stage,” says Kenn Schmidt, CEO of Global Football Training.
And one element seems to pose a challenge to producing talented footballers in the region as the overall skill level leaves a lot to be desired. Thus, up-and-coming footballers lack the technical and tactical abilities of their European and South American counterparts.
A World Apart – Japan and China in different places.
Global Football Training looks back at coaching and player development in Japan and China and finds two countries a world apart.
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China and Japan are old enemies with a long history of fighting it out on the battlefield, the political arena and stadia around the world. On the footballing front, however, one country is leaps and bounds ahead of the other as Japan has raced clear and left China behind.
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China in need of a wake-up call
Since qualifying for the World Cup in 2002, China has struggled to compete at the highest level, and the domestic game is relying on gigantic wages to lure ageing stars to this part of Asia. Such an approach can hardly be classed as a sustainable way to improve the domestic game and turn out a flow of talented youngsters.
Educational and Eventful World Tour Comes to an End
Global Football Training has traveled the world to map, analyse and boost coaching methods to improve the next generation of footballers, and now it is time to recap the pros and cons.
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A few years on from setting out on a mission to get an in-depth look at coaching structures and player development strategies around the globe, the trip has come to an end.
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The journey was scheduled to last 12 months. Instead, CEO Kenn Schmidt ended up travelling between continents for three years, notching up a staggering 116,712 air miles, staying in nearly 200 cities, and visiting more than 100 clubs and academies.
Global Football Training did, however, miss out on getting a first-hand glance at coaching and life in India, South Korea, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast as time ran out and visa issues played their part. Besides that, this non-profit project travelled to footballing powerhouses, sleeping giants and traditional minnows.