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| Ahmed Sanjari (left) conducting B Licence course. File picture |
Jamshedpur, May 19: This year, language will not be a barrier for coaches attending the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) A Licence course, scheduled to take place from July 8 to August 8.
Coaches from across the country had a harrowing time in grasping techniques in Persian language spoken by Ahmed Sanjari, the instructor appointed by AFC to conduct the B Licence course in November last year. He hails from Iran.
The language problem which the coaches faced on and off the field forced the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to send former footballer Jamshed Nassiri to Jamshedpur for interpreting Persian into English. But by the time Nassiri arrived, a few days were left for the course to end.
“We managed to grasp things only after Nassiri arrived,” said a football coach of Jamshedpur, who underwent the harrowing experience during the B Licence course last year.
Harbhajan Singh, the head of sports, Tata Steel, confirmed that an English- speaking instructor would be conducting the A Licence course this time.
“The instructor will be either be from Singapore or Malaysia,” he said.
Singh said that they had sent the feedback to the AIFF about the problems faced by the candidates last year and that the federation had agreed to appoint an English-speaking instructor.
“Language emerged as a stumbling block as the candidates could not understand what Sanjari was saying. But the situation will be different now,” Singh added.
The A Licence course will be held at JRD Tata Sports Complex in July. In all, 24 candidates from across the country would be taking the examina-tion. The Tata Steel sports department is co-ordinating the process on behalf of the AIFF.
The AFC conducts A, B and C Licence courses for football coaches. Those who have completed the B Licence course are eligible for the A Licence course.
Tata Football Academy (TFA) coach and former national footballer P. Vijay Kumar is the only candidate from Jamshedpur to attend the A Licence course.
