TTFA President completes FIFA Executive Programme

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association President Kieron Edwards attended the final session 2024 FIFA Executive Programme in Strategic Planning and Implementation in Miami this past week.

He was accompanied at the closing week of proceedings by General Secretary Kareem Paul at which FIFA President Gianni Infantino was present and underlined the importance of FIFA’s 211 Member Associations (MAs) mapping out in detail their plans for the future of football in their countries at the final session of the The 12-week course – organised via the FIFA Campus programme.

The programme, which is being followed by representatives of 11 MAs around the Caribbean, comprises six modules and combines online learning with live virtual sessions. It is designed to equip football professionals with the tools and skills to develop and implement strategic plans to grow the game around the world.At the in-person workshop which completed the course, participants had workshop sessions on themes such as leading a national team, the role of the president, general secretary and other stakeholders within an MA, and how to balance priorities.

TTFA President Kieron Edwards and General Secretary Kareem Paul (back row extreme right) are seen here with the other participants of the FIFA Executive Programme in Strategic Planning and Implementation, along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other Concacaf and CFU officials.

In addition to input from course leader Stewart Regan, participants also heard from Tom Gorissen, FIFA Director MA Services, and FIFA Member Associations Division Regional Director Americas Jair Bertoni. They also received insight from two guest speakers, Columbus Crew and 2024 MLS Coach of the Year Wilfried Nancy and former England U-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd.

The three-day session closed with a ceremony during which the participants received certificates to mark their successful completion of the programme before they return to their respective MAs to apply the knowledge they have acquired for the benefit of the beautiful game.

“From making a consistently increasing pool of funds available for our MAs through FIFA Forward, to other initiatives such as the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, FIFA Football For Schools, and the expanded global tournaments, FIFA is doing its best to make football even more global,” added Mr Infantino. “There is great talent across the Concacaf and UNCAF [the Central American Football Union] regions. FIFA will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to create the best possible structures for this talent to be recognised, develop and thrive. Thank you to those present today.”

TTFA President Kieron Edwards with President of the St Vincent/Grenadines Football Federation Otashie Spring, with their certificates on display at the end of the Executive Programme