Kiran picked for AFC ‘B’ Coaching Course

Pakistan’s first woman football coach Ms Kiran Ilyas Ghouri has qualified for the AFC ‘B’ Coaching Course at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the Pakistan Football Federation announced Wednesday. She was nominated by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to participate in the course. PFF President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, on the selection of Ms Kiran, said that four key elements coaching, competition, talent hunt and selection on merit were essential in the overall development of the game. The 32-year-old was the assistant coach of Pakistan team at the 2010 South Asian Games and the inaugural South Asian Football Federation’s Women’s Championship, also in 2010. She played as captain for Punjab in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 before becoming the coach for the U-14 team at the AFC Festival of Football for girls in Sri Lanka in 2009. Ghouri, who has a master’s degree in sports science, believes she is ‘growing together’ with women’s football in Pakistan which is still in its infancy compared to the big guns in Asia.
It is pertinent to mention that the AFC ‘B’ Coaching Certificate is for the coaches who already have the ‘C’ Certificate. The course is designed to educate coaches about the advanced techniques and skills of the game and help them develop a better understanding of individual or groups of players, tactics and the mental requirements of the game. The duration of the course is for 20 days, containing more than 107 hours of theoretical and practical contents. The examination focuses on the coaches’ practical coaching abilities, knowledge and understanding of the theoretical contents of the game, in addition to a brief presentation of a dissertation to the class. The eligibility of AFC ‘B’ Coaching Course is 2 years practical experience after passing AFC ‘C’ Coaching Course.