AFC picks Shehzad for coaches education panel [The News]

KARACHI: Pakistan’s most qualified football coach Shehzad Anwar has been included by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in a panel which will make strategies for development of coaches’ education in Asia.

Shehzad, who returned from Kuala Lumpur after attending the first AFC National Coaches Conference from August 18-20, told ‘The News’ that the panel held its first meeting after the conference in the AFC headquarters on August 20.

The other members of the panel are from Jordon, Malaysia, Australia, the UAE, the Philippines, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Uzbekistan and three members from Singapore.

Shehzad said it was a great opportunity to work on the panel having highly skilled brains. “It will help me learn more about football,” he said.

Shehzad is the first Pakistani to have been chosen on such a prestigious panel. The panel will hold its next meeting in January next year.

Shehzad will also attend the AFC youth seminar in Kuala Lumpur from October 12-14.

About the national coaches conference in Kuala Lumpur, Shehzad said it was productive. “The conference discussed how to bridge the gap between football standard of developed and emerging countries, technical trends, coaches education, grassroots and youth development and role of technical directors,” he said.

Shehzad represented Pakistan in the conference as Director Technical of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).

Former Pakistan coach Mohammad Shamlan was also to participate in the conference as the national coach, but the Bahraini quit as Pakistan coach after his two-year contract with the PFF expired in July.

Shehzad is also the first Pakistani coach who is doing the pro-licence course. “I have received the details of the fifth module of my pro-licence course. It will be held in Switzerland from October 18-28,” Shehzad revealed.

Before attending the last module in Switzerland, Shehzad will have to work with a foreign club for four weeks as per requirement of the course.

“I will go to Brazil before September 18 to work with a club for four weeks,” said Shehzad, who serves in the sports wing of the PAF College Sargodha and was the head coach of Pakistan for SAFF Cup in Nepal in 2013.

He was made head coach after the PFF sacked Zavisa Milosavljevic of Serbia owing to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in Kabul. Under Shehzad’s coaching, PAF won their maiden title of the National Challenge Cup in 2014.