First of all, I would like to send my warmest greetings to all football enthusiasts in Fiji – to grow the beautiful game here in Fiji we need all knowledge and support we can get and combine it in the best possible way. Together we know a lot and we can achieve a lot!
I am based in the National Academy in Ba with my wife and our three young daughters and we had a wonderful start. For my new role as a Technical Director, I can really say I am very proud to work for such a well-organized FA. That we have leaders in our FA on the top like our President Mr.Patel and the CEO Mr. Yusuf who have a high knowledge and big heart for football and Fiji and also understand the business side on the highest level is a big fortune for football in Fiji.
Already 16 years ago while I was playing football in New Zealand, I was very lucky to get a taste of Fiji during a 3 weeks holiday. Especially the friendly and positive people with their great values like Family, Respect and being a strong unit that is always helping each other made a big impression on me as a young man.
That I could return now as a Technical Director for the Fiji FA is something I am very proud of and I will do my very best to help develop football in Fiji further.
Within the first three month I did my very best to see and learn as much as possible about the culture and the Football Landscape in Fiji.
Something that is very obvious to me is the big amount of talent I see here in the country, the natural movement talent with all the speed and coordination you have here is an amazing starting point. So definitely one of my biggest aims is to help develop opportunities for the next generations of football players in Fiji by developing the top level but also the base at the same time, as Grassroot Football will be a crucial success factor for the Future of Fijian Football.
At the moment we are working on a “Talent Development Handbook” that will be the starting point for our Talent Development Program “The Fiji Way”. In this handbook we want to share Proven Knowledge, Scientific Facts, Best Practices and Key Performance Indicators how football and players can be improved in the best possible way. So this is not someone´s personal opinion, instead it will be based on facts and of course adapted to the external factors here in Fiji to get the most out of it.
Science has proven that in order to develop the full potential of a player we have to start in the so-called “Golden Age” between 8-13 years. Also from a practical point of view it is very obvious what needs to be done, when you analyze the top-level game:
At the World Cup 2018 from all players in the squad of the 4 Semi-Finalist France, Croatian, England and Belgium have made their debut in professional football under 18 years and have started to train in an Elite Environment in average with 10 years and younger. Additionally, on average these players play between 60 to 80 games each and every season and become better and better.
This Handbook will be finished by January 2022 and will be shared with all interested clubs and football people during workshops, club visits and coach education courses.
In the Coach Education Department, we have Yogendra Dutt one of the most respected and knowledgeable people within the Game in Fiji who knows the game from his successful time as a coach very well from a practicable point. This mix with his background as a teacher and experience in Coach Education is the perfect combination to develop the next generation of coaches.
When the COVID Restrictions will hopefully allow it next year when children will be allowed to go back to school and training, we will start Phase 1 of our Fiji FA Elite Program “The Fiji Way” in our three National Academies in Suva, Ba and Labasa. In this program we will train from U8 to U15 all around the year and 3-4times a week, the best talents close to the academies with a proven methodology to develop top footballers and top personalities for the next generation. Later on, in Phase 2 and 3 we would like to work closely together with the clubs to progress the Talent Development in Fiji even further.
Also in 2022, we will start for the first time a Competition Format for the younger age groups, as competition drives everything. Here I want to mention Amitesh Pal who has done a great job with his team in the competition department and has huge expertise to speed up the implementation of this important strategy, as for player development the big keyword is competition!
Regarding Men´s Football, I must say I am very impressed with the quality of the players in the Premier League and the Men´s Nationalteam, I clearly can see a lot of profiles that can make it professionally overseas. They have everything the modern game demands, also here we have to provide them the best possible opportunities.
I love watching the training of the National Players in camp in Ba and seeing a positive atmosphere and how hard they work and how they improve. During the first camp with the Men´s National team I was also helping out in one of the training in an 11 vs 11 due to an injured player and I experienced firsthand on the pitch the class of players like Tevita Waranaivalu, Beniamino Mateinaqara, Setareki Hughes, Sairusi Nalaubu or the young Talent Thomas Dunn just to name a few.
I am sure we will have a strong Nationalteam but COVID made it impossible to compete on the International Stage so everybody is looking forward to measuring against another team hopefully in January 2022.
International Football shows that the peak age of a successful team in football is around 26-28 years where players still have the speed and a top fit body but additionally have gained the game experience. So National coach Flemming Serritslev made a smart decision to put a talented squad together that will have their peak age in 2026.
With Flemming Serritslev we have the best possible coach with all his knowledge and international experience. His positive approach, tactical Know-How, and professional training approach and his knowledge about the Oceania region after his time with Papua New Guinea make him the best possible choice to guide our Bula-Boys in the future direction.
Another important part of our Development Plan is the Growth of Women`s football. In the last camp I was helping out the Women´s Nationalteam as a coach and I was very happy with the performance of the girls. These girls have a big passion for football and learn very fast, so we will do our very best to find the best possible coach for the Women´s Team that will help develop Women´s Football in Fiji further in general and put a strong team together for the World Cup Qualifier 2023 in particular.
During a visit to Suva I also got the chance to watch a Beach Soccer Tournament. Seeing the players enjoying themselves in a great positive atmosphere I could also see a lot of talent and potential in this area of the game.
The same with Futsal. Just from the first three games I saw and thinking about putting the best players together I can imagine that already that will be a fantastique team.
In general when people are asking me about my job I can say that I am in charge of the future direction of the Technical Department with a long-term focus to make sure that we will also win tomorrow.
You can compare it with the National food “Lovo”. For that awesome tasting meal, you need the best natural ingredients you can get. You also need a very good preparation and a lot of knowledge how to prepare it and you need patience. If you want to eat the Lovo after just one hour it will not taste good.
We have the natural “Ingredients” also in football but do develop something great, patience plays an important role but on the same time we will do our very best to improve the game on a daily basis.
To be successful any organization has to think in processes with a long term strategy and I want to help to create a strong football fundament that further generations in Fiji who have a passion for football and dreams can rely on.
To reach that we have to think about possibilities instead of difficulties as for football development we need both: Positive Energy and Critical Evaluation.
So if you have any questions or ideas on how we can move forward you are always welcome to speak to me or just drop me an email: technicaldirector@fijifootball.com.fj
Football has the power to be one of the most important social development tools, so if we can make as many people as possible in Fiji fall in love with the football we will have a positive impact on society as well…
I am looking forward to developing with all of you together football in Fiji further and to giving opportunities for the great talents we have!
Yours in Football,
Timo Yankowski
Fiji FA Technical Director
