Madrid, Spain - (KRG.org) - Twelve football coaches from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq arrived in Madrid earlier this week to take part in a two day training course given by the Real Madrid Foundation. The reason for their visit was to learn the methods of Real Madrid’s training program and philosophy of football that is designed and implemented to teach young children all over the world. Once they have finished the training program, the coaches will be ready to return to the Kurdistan Region and teach young children football via a Real Madrid tailored curriculum.
February last year saw the Real Madrid Foundation and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Culture and Youth sign an agreement to pave way for the opening of four social football schools for young people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The schools will be opened in Erbil, Slemani, Duhok and Kelar
Each school will have the capacity to hold and train around one hundred young children where they will take part not only in football training sessions - whereby their football techniques and skills will be largely improved - but also educational activities such as sessions on career advice, ethnic cohesion, gender equality, and will be given regular motivational workshops and medical check-ups. The schools will be administered by the Ministry of Culture and Youth of the KRG, whilst all training programs will be supervised by the Real Madrid Foundation, with frequent correspondence and visits between the two parties.
Mr Daban Shadala, the KRG Representative to Spain, yesterday visited Ciudad Real Madrid – the training ground of the Foundation - in order to witness the progress of the coaches’ program. The Real Madrid Foundation’s Technical Director of Football and Training praised the coaches in their “quick understanding and grasping of the Real Madrid philosophy of football”. Mr Shadala said that he was “pleased to see the final stages of the schools get underway. The people of Kurdistan have been waiting for some time to see the schools open, and now we can finally see the project really get underway.” Mr Shadala yesterday visited the Real Madrid Foundation in order to participate in the presentation of the Diploma’s that were awarded to the coaches from Kurdistan.