The Bermuda Football Coaches Association has announced the schedule for its upcoming Uefa equivalent C licence and newly offered Intro to Coaching courses to be offered this year.

Coaches will have the opportunity to participate in coaching education that will allow them to meet the criteria and standards of the coach licensing policy set by the Bermuda Football Association.

This policy will come into effect on August 31 for the 2018-2019 season.

The licensing policy will require coaches to possess a minimum required level of coach education to qualify to coach at respective age levels.

Presently, the BFCA is the only organisation offering ongoing coaching education opportunities for football coaches in Bermuda.

The Uefa equivalent C licence is a two-part 40-hour course, which is led by Jacques Crevoisier, along with three Bermuda coach educators, and comprises classroom and on-field sessions, with individual assessments held at the end of the course.

The course is sanctioned by the BFA.

Crevoisier coached for the French Football Federation at Clairefontaine, winning the Under-18 European Championship in 2000, and was a Uefa senior director for the technical department. He was also the first-team coach at Liverpool from 2001 to 2003.

The C licence course is set for March 6 to 13 and September 18 to 24. Both parts of the course will be conducted at the National Sports Centre.

The Into to Coaching course is geared toward parents, team managers, PE teachers, present and former players who are new to coaching; and existing coaches, especially under-7 to under-11, who have not had any formal coaching education.

The two-weekend course will be led by Uefa B qualified coach educators from the BFCA, with individual assessments held at the end of the course.

The course curriculum has been developed by Crevoisier, who will assist with the training and development of the coach educators. The first course is set for May 5 and 6, and May 12 and 13.

The venue for the course will be confirmed in coming weeks.

Maceo Dill, the BFCA vice-president, who also serves as the course manager for the C licence, said: “We are pleased this will be the sixth annual course offering for the BFCA Uefa equivalent C licence, which has seen over 120 coaches gain coaching education.

“The addition of the Intro to Coaching course will provide an entry point for the coach education process that will prepare the candidate for the gradual progression to move up through the coaching education pathway.

“For those coaches who aspire towards it, they can develop the knowledge and skills sets to be ready to try and obtain the much respected and coveted Uefa B licence offered by the Scottish FA in partnership with the BFCA.

“The dialogue and working relationship with the BFA allows us to ensure that collectively we can raise the standard of coaching on the island by creating a culture of football in Bermuda that is providing a high quality of recognised coaching education courses from the BFCA, in conjunction with meeting standards and criteria that have been set by the BFA to ensure our players are getting a solid foundation of instruction to be better prepared.”

To register for courses or to request more information e-mail coacheucation@bfca.bm .