How A Small Nation Can Qualify For A Major Tournament

Background

Major obstacles to progression in the world game include finance, deference and infrastructure. A technical director's role is to strip back everything, throw away the rule book and take a new look at the future of the game. This is my ten year plan.

My Project

From the outset I have to explain that I know this might go against the instant results culture that we have in football. This isn't an overnight success plan. But these are the steps required by small nation federations if they want to develop the game that they run.

Firstly, over the next four to six years you have to prioritise on the youth teams. Focus development on 14-16 year olds, by the time they are 20, the federation in question will have a good nucleus of youth to help achieve their goals. FIFA has six international windows, that gives each federation approximately twelve opportunities to get some experience, and every federation has to use these windows to develop these players.

Speaking from my experience and knowledge, a number of larger, successful football federations have worked hard to remove competitive football in youth age groups. The results don't matter, they want the players to enjoy playing, skills develop faster when it comes with enjoyment. Its progression that is the key point, not results, not yet anyway.

Also, there has to be continuity and belief. It is counter-productive to change a manager or technical director after a few defeats. Look at Trinidad and Tobago: including Bertille St. Clair who left in 2000, they have had 20 coaches since the turn of the millennium. They are still the smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup, for now at least, but are now struggling in local competitions.

Now we need to talk about training

The players have to have fun, every winning team has one thing in common, they all enjoy their football. I think it was Pep Guardiola that coined the term “Train like a beast, play like a beast, train like an idiot, play like an idiot.” Work hard, get your muscle memory right, train like you want to play, play like you want to train.

The technical director must watch as much football as possible. If young players know the TD is taking time to come and watch them personally, they will raise their game, and other players will raise their game too in order to impress.

So now we have the future setup, what's next?

The youth leagues need to be modernised. Gone are the days when somebody's father or uncle should be coaching a team. A new coaching pathway needs to be created, and the qualifications need to have real importance. I recently completed my USSF National Licence whilst living in the UK, done entirely online for $25.

With the FIFA World Cup expanding to 48 federations from 2026, the timing is significant. The 14-16 year olds of today will be 23-25 by then, fit, stronger and technically superior to the 23-25 year old of today.

We also need to talk about off-the-field growth. An interactive, accessible social media presence builds reach organically, and a small nation's diaspora represents real, underused commercial opportunity, from affordable replica shirts to broadcast deals with networks looking to fill off-peak programming slots. Personally, I have managed to source endorsements from Umbro, Aquapac and AEE Drones, even whilst still an amateur manager.

Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Improve FIFA Standing

To improve the FIFA standing and bring the federation into the top 100 FIFA rankings, by providing relevant information about the changes required to grow football in their nation.

Goal 2: Use Local Coaches Effectively

To effectively use local coaches as a major factor in player development, recruiting and educating coaches and using them to engage with local schools.

Goal 3: Raise Awareness of the Local Game

To raise awareness of the local game through social media, improving youth intake and turning increased visibility into income from marketing.

Goal 4: Build Better Infrastructure

To have a better infrastructure in place to support the federation's long term growth.

Conclusion

If a federation is serious about developing the game then they need to rip up everything that they know and start to plan for the next ten years. They need a coach who is ambitious but someone who wants to stick around and see the results of their hard work.

Iceland followed a similar plan. After missing out on World Cup 2014 qualification by a single point, they refocussed their energy onto the European Qualifiers for Euro 2016, reaching an amazing quarter final and beating giants such as England and the Netherlands along the way.

A federation can be small but successful. They just need the right person in charge.