Roko Angami and Mathew Yhome with others during the opening ceremony of AIFF-D license coaching in Kohima on June 8. (Morung Photo)

Our Correspondent
Kohima | June 8
A six-day long All India Football Federation (AIFF) D license coaching under the aegis of Kohima District Football Association (KDFA) commenced today at Indira Gandhi stadium, Kohima.
Gracing the opening ceremony as the special guest, Nagaland Football Coaches Association (NFCA) president Roko
said that Nagaland is in need of licensed coaches to promote and enhance the sport.
He observed that coaches have the ability to influence the play of sportspersons and therefore it was important for coaches to be trained with the right knowledge to produce good players.
He pointed out that there are only few qualified coaches in Nagaland unlike neighboring states which have hundreds of qualified coaches.
Roko told the trainees that ‘D’ license training is an introductory course which lays the foundation for student coaches to become professional coaches in the future.
He pointed out that coaches at district level require ‘C’ license while it for state level events a minimum of ‘B’ license coaches is required.
Although the course was compressed into a 6-day schedule, he encouraged the participants to do their best during the course.
The current batch undergoing ‘D’ license coaching, will likely be the last as a new category ‘E’ license has been introduced as the base course, he disclosed.
He informed that after the completion of the course, student coaches would be eligible to become members of the NFCA which currently has about 80 licensed coaches as members.
The inaugural was chaired by KDFA president Mathew Yhome.
As per AIFF, student coaches for ‘D’ license should be above 18 years. All student coaches are expected to complete their workbook before the completion of the course and get it signed by the course educator.
AIFF D Coach Educator and AFC ‘A’ licensed coach, N William Koso, is the main instructor while Zhovezo Resu is the liaison officer for the training.