The StarTimes Bundesliga Football School was opened in Accra last Saturday at the Sukura Lord’s Wembley Park where 100 young footballers were taken through a training programme led by top German youth coaches.
The young footballers, drawn across the country, comprised 25 girls, 25 under-12 boys, 25 under-15 and 25 under-17 boys completing the list.
Already in camp for the school, the youngsters practised different drills such as group techniques, individual techniques, and overall game-play and are expected to conclude the programme in five days.
The coaches that led the session, comprised retired German women’s football great Renate Lingor, a two-time World and European Cup winner, Tobias Suveges of SV Werder Bremen, Arne Stratmann of TSG Hoffenheim, Bjoern Nass of Bayer 04 Leverkusen and head coach of the Bundesliga Football School, Birger J. Nass.
They were joined by renowned Ghanaian youth coaches such as Ghana U-15 head coach Samuel Boadu, Evans Addotey, head of the of the under-17 side, among others.
Addressing the press at the opening, Birger Nass indicated that the youngsters would train two times daily over a 16-90 minutes duration – a standard practice in the German youth game.
“We want the children to have fun, whilst they learn about the German Clubs and our philosophies.
He was excited that the partnership offered them- an opportunity to work with local trainers where they would exchange ideas about philosophies and the different approaches towards the youth game in both countries.
He said the partnership would also offer the fans an opportunity to experience how special German football was and why it was ranked about the top five leagues in the world.
Providing a detailed account for the arrangements on the training schedule, Bjoern Nass outlined modalities for the training.
“We will group the 100 kids into 18 different groups mixed up from the different age groups where they would play the German Bundesliga.
“In total, we will have nine teams in two groups that would compete until the finals on Wednesday where a Deutsch master in Ghana is determined.”
For her part, Head of Marketing at StarTimes, Akorfa Djankui, said being the sole broadcaster of the German Bundesliga in the sub-region, they deemed it a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to partner with the Deutsch Football League (DFL) to help develop the grassroots game in the country.
“We have been complaining about the fallen standard of the colt’s game in the country.
“As an organisation that has partnered the GFA on several projects, we deemed it a CSR to contribute our quota towards the upliftment of the game at that level,” she stated.
As part of the project, legendary ex- German skipper and Captain Lothar Matthaus is expected to arrive in Ghana today where he would be joined by ex-Ghanaian international Samuel Osei Kuffour and Charles Akunnor, who both featured prominently for German sides – Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg respectively, during their playing days.
The trio will as part of arrangements, lead a legends tour campaign and also offer encouragement and insights of their playing days to the young footballers.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
