Dubai Sports Council (DSC) has announced the launch of a qualifying course for football coaches in collaboration with Juventus Club Academy which is assigned to designate lecturers from Juventus Club to develop the coaching staff in the State. 

This came during the meeting of H.E. Saeed Hareb, the Secretary General of DSC, with Giorgio Chiellini, the former football star of Italy & Juventus Club, in the presence of several players of Juventus Academy in Dubai.

The meeting discussed the program of the course, the first of its kind which is organized by Juventus Club outside Europe & sought ways to secure successful organization of the course, aiming to develop the level of the technical & coaching staff in football field in the UAE.

H.E. Saeed Hareb appreciated the hard efforts exerted by Juventus Academy to attract & develop talents and to boost technical levels of players of different age groups, referring that thanks to these efforts, Juventus Academy Team has won the title of the World Championship. He confirmed that Juventus is one of the prominent teams with ancient history, and it acquires great repute among the various continents of the world & supported by huge numbers of fans.

The legend of Juventus Football Club Giorgio Chiellini expressed pleasure toward his presence in Dubai & his visit to DSC’s premises and stated: “I am pleased to come to Dubai to launch the first training course for Juventus Club outside Europe. I extremely believe on the importance of coaching education to boost technical levels of players. Therefore, it is important to qualify & improve coaches’ skills to secure brilliant future of the promising players. This endeavor does not focus on the technical development only, but it also deals with the lifestyle of our promising players. Juventus Academy in Dubai is a bright example of excellence on & off the field”.     

The former Italian football star presented an explanation on the Juventus Academy training course, which will take place in Dubai from 31st May to 2nd June 2024 and provide unique opportunity for coaches in UAE to understand the coaching method of Juventus Academy to gain comprehensive information on the training mechanism, where technical vision, performance, sports psychology beside other technical factors will be explained.   

The three–day course comprises theoretical lectures in addition to field observations, based on the assistance of Juventus Academy’s staff & players in Dubai. All the course’s activities will focus on coaches of players in the age groups from 13 to 17 years old. In conclusion of the course, coaches will receive participation certificates. 

Further information on the course are available at the official website through the following link: www.ffg.ae/courses. 

H.E. Saeed Hareb welcomed the guest and briefed him with sufficient explanation on DSC’s role and the various sports events taking place annually in Dubai, besides the existing of more than 200 nationalities residing in the country. He talked on the spread of the exercise of sports activities among all classes in society. He also reviewed the development of the sports sector and the increase of the numbers of those who exercise sport, besides facilities presented to everybody who is desirous to invest in the sports field.   

H.E. the Secretary General of DSC accompanied the Italian guest in a tour around DSC’s premises and briefed him on the role of the Council’s departments & sections and the Innovation Lab. He presented to the guest the English version of “My Story”, a masterpiece book, written by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Vice President & Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

In turn, the Italian football legend presented his official jersey, while playing for Juventus Club, to the Secretary General of DSC.

Juventus Academy Dubai was named the Best Football – only Academy in the Middle East during the last SPIA Awards and carries out various football levels and activities across the city, including the Juventus Training Experience in Italy, football tournaments for all levels inside and outside UAE, Juventus’ Legend Visits as well as their participation in the city’s official football league DOFA, organised by the Dubai Sports Council.

Chiellini’s visit to the Juventus Academy Dubai also gave the former Italian defender an opportunity to meet up with more 1,000 players and 30 coaches from Dubai and Sharjah.

In June 2023, Juventus Academy Dubai’s Under-12 team became the first team in Asia and the Middle East to win the Juventus Academy World Cup, a tournament organized every year by Juventus with participation from more than 70 academies from across the world. The Dubai U-12 team won the final at Continassa (Juventus Training Centre) and lifted the trophy at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

Chiellini, who has 117 appearances with the national team, was thrilled to be part of such a unique initiative. “It’s a pleasure to be here in Dubai to launch this new coaching workshop. I strongly believe in the importance of coaching education in the growth of players and I saw it all during the course of my own career. For this reason it is crucial to focus on a coach’s preparation and improve his skills to maintain a winning project for young players like we have at Juventus.

This is a method that includes not only technical development, but also centres on the life of our young players, focusing on their growth in all spheres at the same time. I must add that the Dubai Academy is a bright example of excellence on and off the field,” the 39-year-old noted.

Mohammed Lajam, Chairman of FFG Sports Management, said: “We are ready to launch the first Juventus Academy course outside Europe, our newest initiative that completes our Academy’s various range of activities inside and off the field. We are also proud to be aligned with the vision of our partners Dubai Sports Council to continue growing the level of football coaching in the emirate.”

Fabrizio Puglisi, CEO of FFG Sports Management, was also pleased with the initiative. “The presence of a legend like Giorgio Chiellini to launch this coaching course is the latest goal to testify to the growth of our academy activities in Dubai and Sharjah. We regularly launch many activities and the coaches are always the centre of our kids’ growth. Our academy continues its mission to push the level of football with valuable partnerships such as with Dubai Sports Council,” he said.

Martino Rimoldi, International Business Development Manager, said: “We are very proud to return to Dubai, home of one of our best Juventus Academies from around the world. We strongly believe in coaching education and thanks to this opportunity, we are enthusiastic to start this new project for the first-time outside Europe with the collaboration of Dubai Sport Council.”